


These Things Take Time

by bangtanbangs



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Falling In Love, M/M, Mpreg, Parent Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups, Parent Yoon Jeonghan, Post Mpreg, established Junhao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-14 16:46:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15393072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangtanbangs/pseuds/bangtanbangs
Summary: Jeonghan had promised himself to not let himself be taken advantage of again. Especially not by another Alpha, after him for his ability to have babies.What happens when Joshua introduces him to his friend who also has kids. An Alpha.





	1. It Was Everything

**Author's Note:**

> So hi, this is the first time I've posted anything here. I have a lot thought out for this, but I don't have much written. Before I keep going with this story, I wanted to see if anyone else liked it enough to keep going. 
> 
> Please let me know if you see any typos or grammar mistakes, I just kind of want to get a feeling of whether other people would like this or not. 
> 
> If mpreg or ABO isn't your thing, then this fic probably won't be up your alley.
> 
> FOR TRIGGER WARNINGS: Please see the endnotes, where I will put the trigger warnings for each chapter, so it doesn't spoil anything for readers, but also easy to find if you need the TW

As he steps out of his old silver minivan, carrying a large carefully wrapped present, and locks the car, he calls for the four boys lingering behind him. 

“Soonie-ah, stop teasing Seokminnie! Gyu, Kwannie, come on! Chan, leave the game. We’re already late.”

A few moments after knocking, he’s surprised by the Chinese man who opens the door. 

“Minghao! How are you feeling? You look great!” 

And the Omega did. At about eight months pregnant, the 31 year old was glowing. Or maybe it was sweat from it being the middle of July. Regardless, the pregnancy had added a bit of roundness to his face, even though his limbs remained as long and toned somehow. 

“Uncle Minghao!” Seungkwan ran up to Minghao and gently hugged around his swollen midsection. The other four boys ran into the house, probably to find any snacks or games available. 

“Where’s Jun? I didn’t expect you to be the one getting the door?” He asks as the pair heads to the small patio and backyard where the baby shower is being held. 

“Well, you know he can’t help but try to entertain all the kids here. I’m glad you got here. The other kids need to escape him before he tries to make them listen to another lame story,” he replies with exasperation clear on his face, fondness in his eyes. 

“But back to you, how are you feeling? Getting pretty big now. And I think it looks good on you. But you know you can complain to me if you need to, right? I mean, been there, done that.” He places the large present on the table near the back door and opens the door, letting Minghao go ahead. 

“Well, my feet are super swollen still, my body aches like it never has, and I still am supposed to keep my movement low, but I really never have been able to sit still. And I’m still a little worried…” the younger trails off as he see Jun run up to the pair. 

“Jeonghan! Long time no see!” The Alpha almost yells into his ear, giving him a big hug, wrapping both Jeonghan’s arms in his. 

“Aish, Jun, what have you been doing? Leaving your poor, heavily pregnant Omega to open the door for me like that? You know he’s not supposed to move around a lot,” the older Omega scolds immediately to a embarrassed looking Jun, who glances at Minghao’s back retreated towards the table of snack. All healthy, of course, if he knows Minghao. And he knows his Seungkwan, if that face he’s making at the snack table says anything. 

“Hyung,” Jun whines, “You and I both know he’d get up and move around if he wants to anyway. He doesn’t listen to me and never has and never will. He tells me this all the time while telling me to buy him food or rub his feet.”

“And you should. You did this to him after all.”

“Yeah I did.” Jun breathes out in a sigh. He looks back at his mate, who is now sitting in his comfy chair and munching on a salad, and talking with some friends Jeonghan doesn’t recognize. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jeonghan snaps his fingers in June face to get his attention. “Hey, hey. Tell me more about how you’re doing then. Ready for the baby in T-2 months?”

Jun practically starts vibrating on the spot, “I’ve never been more excited for anything in my life. Maybe besides asking Minghao to bond, but that was more of a vomit-y nervous. This is a jittery bouncy nervous. Ah, I can’t wait to be a dad.”

“And how is Minghao doing?” Jeonghan gives Jun a look, knowing the younger wouldn’t be able to keep the raw truth from him. 

“He’s coping better with the mobility part. We’re really lucky he’s kept so much of his muscle tone. The doctor has been saying that without it, he’d be having a lot harder time on his joints.”

Jeonghan hums in understanding. He gets it. 

“But I’m not always sure he’s excited to be a dad. I mean, I know he wants her, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready. I know he can get there. But there’s so much to worry about. You kno-”

“Wait, did you just-”

“What, wai-”

“AH YOU’RE HAVING A LITTLE GIRL!” Jeonghan silently squeals, and Jun looks upset for a split second before joining in, grasping both his hands and jumping up and down. It draws the attention of Jeonghan’s best friend, Joshua. 

“Well can I join in on this little love fest?” 

“Actually no, Shua hyung, because I just let slip the gender and I know Minghao will kill me if it gets out. If he can catch me.” Jun laughs before realizing that even in his handicapped condition, Minghao was perfectly capable of murdering him in his sleep and hiding the body. 

“Well I’m going to take Hannie off your hands for a moment,” Joshua says with a look to Jun, grabbing Jeonghan’s hand and pulling him to the other side of the small yard. Jun relinquishes his grasp on Jeonghan too easily, so he’s immediately suspicious. 

“Talk to you later Jun, and don’t worry about Minghao. I’ll definitely talk to him.” Jun looks a bit relieved before heading off to find some more kids to smother in his stories or possibly his mate to coo about some more. 

Jeonghan takes a moment to grab a few celery sticks at the snack table. He turns to Joshua, ready to figure out why he would pull him away from the expecting father. Especially that look they shared. 

“So what’s this?”

“What’s what?” Joshua tries to shrug it off like he hadn’t headed this way like a man on a mission, avoiding Jeonghan’s eyes. 

“Shua, I know how sneaky you are, what’s this way…” he gazes over Joshua’s shoulder to see if he could see anything interested, when he spots the back of a man having an animated conversation with some people he doesn’t know. “Shua, wait no. Not again.”

Joshua knows he’s been caught again when he holds up his hands in defeat. “I would say I’m sorry if I thought that it would change your mind,” he sings softly, before receiving a whack on the shoulder from his best friend. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But really I’m not, because my best friend deserves-after 15 years- to be happy and with someone. In any way. And he’s a good guy.”

Jeonghan gives a huff, “But you know it’s not just a me thing. And I really don’t think I’m what someone my age wants.” He looks over at the lively guy, trying to make a judgement based solely on his movements. 

“Aish, you’re a catch regardless. And I’ll let you in on a secret. Well, barely a secret. I mean, they’re running all around here. But I know a main issue, besides, the obvious, is the kids thing. But this guy, actually, has kids too.”

This snaps Jeonghan to attention, curious how this other man his age has kids as well. Especially grown teenage kids, as he doesn’t really see that many younger ones running around the backyard at the moment. “Really? How old? How many?”

“Three, 18, 18, and 16. I think. But yeah, he adopted them several years ago. He was an orphan himself and he wanted to give some of the older kids a chance too. They’ve really grown to be a real family. It’s cute how he smiles when they first started to call him dad.”

Jeonghan’s heart melts a little at that. Although, he couldn’t let Joshua know this. “Well, even so, having three kids doesn’t mean you want to add five more. That a lot of kids to take care of. And you know I’m a package deal.”

“And that’s perfect. A perfect package. Now let’s go introduce you.” Joshua pulls Jeonghan quickly, before he can try to get away again. They reach the light brown haired man who is now just loitering around the edge of the party. 

“Seungcheol-ah! Hey, this is the friend I mentioned,” Joshua yells a little bit too enthusiastically for either of the other’s. The man, Seungcheol, turns to meet him, when they lock eyes, Jeonghan freezes.

An Alpha. 

Jeonghan loses his breath for a moment when he turns to Joshua, giving him a small look, trying to keep his burgeoning panic under wraps. But Joshua looks pretty certain. Unlike the other times Joshua tried to introduce Jeonghan to another man, and Jeonghan would immoderately turn them down or abruptly mention having five kids. But Joshua had only tried to introduce an Alpha one other time, and hadn’t that gone poorly enough? Why this one?

“Ah, nice to meet you, I’m Choi Seungcheol. I’m friends with Joshua from university.” The Alpha extends his hand slowly, giving Jeonghan time to collect himself. At a nudge from Joshua, he gasps a little, finding his breath, before meeting the proffered hand, giving it a firm shake. He couldn’t let this new Alpha think that he was weak or easily intimidated. But he feel of the large hand in his has him shaking inside, for a reason he can’t recognize. When he lets go of his hand, there’s a tingling sensation left behind.

“I’m Yoon Jeonghan. Friends with Joshua since primary school. Nice to meet you as well.” Jeonghan gives the man an empty smile, trying not to let his nervousness show. He knows that the Alpha shouldn’t be able to smell his fear, but he didn’t want to let it show in his actions either. 

“With this, I’ll leave you two. I’m going to hang out out with my nephews and my soon-to-be niece or nephew. I’ll see you in a bit.” With this, Joshua leaves the two men at the edge of the backyard, heading towards where Seokmin and Soonyoung seems to be in an exaggerated conversation with a smaller boy. 

“So… I heard you have kids?” Jeonghan cringes at his question. Nice going, smooth way to get get to know someone. But Seungcheol hardly seems phased. He proudly gestures towards the yard, pointing out the smaller boy talking to Seokmin and Soonyoung, a boy talking with Seungkwan and Chan, and another sitting on the chairs with Minghao. 

“Yep, those are my three. Jihoon, Hansol, and Wonwoo. Adopted them each when they were ten. They’re all in high school now, but I remember when I first met them each. It feels like so long ago but also, how are they already in high school? But I digress. Anyway, Joshua mentioned you have kids too? If you don’t mind my asking.” He says, facing the rest of the yard, glancing towards Jeonghan. 

“Ah right, the rest,” he says gesturing to the chaos now igniting by the arrival of his boys, “are mine.”

Seungcheol sputters a bit, a bit of the water he was sipping spilling out of his mouth. “Oh, really? And people say I’m crazy for having three!”

Jeonghan chuckles slightly, looking towards the man, really seeing his face for the first time. He’s not the most attractive man he’s ever seen, but there’s something about his sad eyes that gave him a unique charm. “Well, call me crazy, but those are mine. Soonyoung, Seokmin, the two by… Jihoon, Mingyu, actually where did he go, and Seungkwan, and Chan, who are talking to… Hansung?”

“Hansol.”

“Ah yeah, so they’re in high school as well. It looks like some of them actually might know each other. I want to say that Jihoon looks familiar. But you know how high school boys are. They don’t want to introduce you to their friends or talk about crushes or grades or homework ever.”

“Tell me about it,” the Alpha says wistfully, staring out at the yard with a deep sigh, a slight breeze wafting his subtle scent towards Jeonghan. It’s unobtrusive, light, airy, welcoming, unlike any other Alpha scent he’s ever smelled. Most Alpha scents turned him off immediately, with musky tones and overpowering intentions. But this one was intriguing. It made him want to spend more time picking apart the different notes. 

Jeonghan was so mesmerized by the scent that he didn’t realize he had been staring for longer than natural until Seungcheol snapped gently in front of his face. “Earth to Jeonghan. You okay? Is there something wrong?”

It was then that Seungcheol seemed to start panicking, and Jeonghan didn’t know why. He was certain that he didn’t give off his nervousness on his face, as he had had years of practice building his emotional wall. But that didn’t stop Seungcheol from picking up on something, apparently as the Alpha started fidgeting with his glass of water, until a sudden crash startled him into spilling it all over Jeonghan’s white button up. 

While Jeonghan was used to being spilled on--he did live in a house with five teenage boys--he wasn’t used to having someone immediately try to take care of it for him. So when he went to reach towards the table to grab a napkin, he was shocked because Seungcheol had already grabbed tissues and was meaning to soak up the water dripping down Jeonghan. Instead, the two men collide, Seungcheol’s hand making full contact with Jeonghan’s stomach and the other making its way to his waist as he keeps him from falling down.

Now, this wouldn’t be an issue, if Jeonghan’s stomach hadn’t been one of his main issues. Ever since his difficulties in pregnancy and numerous drastic weight changes, his stomach had lost all its elasticity. He had never had abs as a young teen, but with the damage to his body, he never would. And ever since, he had been the most self-conscious of his loose stomach, scattered with stretch marks. 

And now, with this new Alpha holding his waist and practically feeling him up, he felt the panic that started when he scented the Alpha flare up into a fire. He can feel the bile rising in his throat the thoughts--or maybe, flashbacks--of criticisms and vulgar slurs being flung at him for his inabillity to manage his body. His hands are sweating now, and he can feel his face flush in embarrassment and shame. 

“I’m sorry, I d-didn’t mean t- I’ll fix it, don’t leave us, I’ll b-be better-” Jeonghan looks up suddenly, making eye contact with deep chocolate eyes. Realizing these are the jet black eyes haunting him in his panic, he notices his mistake and bolts across the yard and into the house.

This is why I can’t make friends with Alphas.

~~~

[Seungcheol POV]

It only takes a moment, but Jeonghan’s eyes glaze over as he starts mumbling something about being sorry, while fumbling at his own hands holding the drenched man up. After a tear escapes, the light brown eyes blink, regain recognition, and then they’re gone. 

In a second, Jeonghan is gone, leaving his sweet floral scent lingering with hints of fear and shame. He hadn’t noticed his scent before and assumed he was a Beta. Must be an Omega. He thinks about running after him, but immediately rethinks his actions, that he must have triggered something in the man to merit a reaction like this.

Instead, he heads to find Jun and maybe ask if he or Minghao could check on the other. Something tells him that there’s more to this alluring man than meets the eye.

Now, it’s not like its just his scent or appearance. Seungcheol had been flirted with by many attractive men and women over the years. Though most had been turned off by the moment he excitedly would start talking about his children, even those who stayed, intrigued, wouldn’t stay after they realized he wasn’t interested in jumping into bed. 

But Jeonghan. A mystery. Seemingly aloof, but he knew that behind many cold stares, there was often a soft and damaged individual hiding. He knew this from his experience getting his own kids to open up to him after bringing them under his foster care. Wonwoo was the hardest to get to open up, although Jihoon takes a close second. Hansol had never been one to hide stuff from anyone, being the most open book of anyone Seungcheol has ever met.

But Jeonghan gives him the feeling of someone he wants to protect from the world, much like his kids. He wants to continue to get to know him, maybe even earning the privilege of knowing what caused him to react this way. 

In fact, Seungcheol starts to wonder about Jeonghan’s kids. He looks around, and he notices that the boy who hadn’t been in the yard earlier was now picking up baby carrots off the ground and Wonwoo was nowhere to be seen. All of Jeonghan’s kids are around the same ages as his own. If they have kids the same age—and are about the same age as Joshua mentioned before—then when did Jeonghan have them? Joshua and Jeonghan give off the vibes that these are Jeonghan’s biological kids, but Jeonghan is so young to have teenage kids and so many at that. How close are they all in age? They couldn’t all be his, biologically, could they?

Thinking about this only adds to Seungcheol’s concern as he searches for Junhui amidst the slight chaos of seven boys in the backyard without good snacks to occupy them. I’ll have to talk to Minghao about getting some real party foods in here. He runs in to Jun as he enters the house.

“So... “ Jun says with a wink, “what do you think about Jeonghan?”

“I think someone needs to see if he’s okay.”

“Wai- what? Did something happen?”

“I don’t know, but something must have upset him. He seemed to forget where he was. He kept saying sorry, and then ran into the house. I mean, I know I spilled water on him, but I really don’t think it was just that that set him off.”

“Okay, I’ll have Minghao check on him. I’m—surprise, surprise—not actually the best with emotions.”

“Really? I never would have guessed.” Seungcheol rolls his eyes, thinking back to his panicked phone calls with the younger Alpha when Minghao had given him the ultimatum before moving to Korea.

Junhui finds Minghao sitting in a comfortable position in the living room, entertaining Wonwoo. Somehow, the older Omega had a soft spot for the younger and had been one of the first people, besides Seungcheol, he had opened up to.

“Hao, baby, would you mind checking on Hannie hyung? I think… you know… something happened.” Jun says cryptically. He supposes it makes sense that these are Jeonghan’s friends and know more about his past than a stranger he just met. But he feels a blossoming feeling of… jealousy? He knows now that something must have happened to Jeonghan in the past, and he wants nothing more than to protect him from the world. He never wants to smell the bitter scent of fear clouding up his floral scent ever again.

He didn’t even notice that he started to emit mild Alpha pheromones until Jun comes up to him and places his hands on both of his shoulders. 

“Hyung, you okay? You’re going a bit Alpha on me. Calm down. Nothing is actually happening to Jeonghan. It’s just in his mind. He is safe. Don’t worry. Please just breathe with me.” Jun takes a long breath, holds it, before letting it out again.

Seungcheol knows he shouldn’t be getting this worked up about a stranger. But this isn’t any stranger. This is a man who had endeared himself to his heart in a three minute chat about their kids. And now he had made a fool in front of the same man and created an environment that made him have likely a panic attack. All of Seungcheol’s parenting mojo came back to him, and he hoped he hadn’t ruined his chance to get to know the Omega better.

“Dad?” He hears Wonwoo’s soft voice, and turns to find his son offering him a glass of water. Ever the most thoughtful. He accepts and has the boy sit next to him.

“I’m fine,” Seungcheol reaches up to ruffle his son’s hair after taking a sip of water. “I’m just a little worried about a friend. But what about you? Did you make some friends today?”

“Actually, I’ve already met them. They go to our school, dad. So yeah, but I guess it’s nice to meet them outside of school.” 

“Well, we’ll probably be getting started on some baby shower games soon, so let’s head out to the yard, kay?” Junhui mentions, gathering the both of them.

As they step back into the yard, Seungcheol takes a final glance towards the hallway he’s certain he saw Minghao head down.

~~~

[Minghao POV]

The pregnant Omega approaches the door, knocking quietly.

“Hyung?” Minghao calls softly. “Hannie?” Using the affectionate name gets a small response from the Omega inside. “I’m going to come inside. Is that okay?”

 

At another affirmative sound, Minghao tries the door knob, which, lucky for him, is unlocked. He lets himself in, closing the door behind him and locking it.

He looks down and spots the Omega, looking small and fragile in corner of the bathroom, sitting on the floor between the toilet and the bathtub, clutching the toilet bowl loosely. He has a little vomit on his chin and is sobbing silently, resting his forehead on the toilet seat. His slim body is wracked with convulsions as he heaves into the toilet again, flushing before wiping this mouth with his shirt sleeve. He finally looks up to Minghao with his tearstained eyes looking unfocused.

“H-hao… what are you doing here…” He asks in a small voice. It hurts him to here his hyung sound like this. It had been a while since he had a panic attack this strong.

“I wanted to see my favorite hyung. I need some attention from someone other than Jun hyung sometimes too.” He jokes lightly, trying to focus on anything but the elephant in the room. The reason Jeonghan had become this way. 

“J-jae… He’s trying to hurt me.”

Minghao bends down slowly, cupping underneath his large belly, holding the counter in the other to ease his way to the floor. He scoots over to sit next to Jeonghan, offering out his hands to the older Omega. He cradles Jeonghan gently when he leans into the embrace, hoping that this scent as a pregnant Omega, the most harmless of all scents, would be soothing enough to help him, even the tiniest bit.

“Shhh. No one is trying to hurt you, Hannie.” Minghao coos quietly, slowly rocking back and forth, trying his best to accommodate him against his large stomach. 

“He’s here, isn’t he… He can’t take anything more from me, n-not again, Hao.” Jeonghan whispers urgently against Minghao’s neck, clinging onto Minghao’s maternity jumper and breathing deeply, heartbeat starting to slow down.

“He’s not here. You are safe, and he’s not going to take anything from you. He can’t. No one is going to take anything from you again.” He repeats his words over and over again, knowing the mantra that works the best when Jeonghan becomes like this. It’s not the first time, and Minghao knows it won’t be the last time, seeing as it has been happening since he was 17 and had his first misc- No, let’s not think about that right now. Think positive, think soothing. 

When he notices that Jeonghan has calmed down enough, he pulls himself up onto his knees, trying to figure out how to pull himself up to his feet without risking falling, when Jeonghan gets up and helps him to his feet. 

 

“I’m okay now. Well, I mean, not really okay. But I think I’m okay right now.” Jeonghan heads slowly to the door, when Minghao grabs his wrist. 

“Hold on. You look a mess.” He wipes the little bit of vomit off his chin with a hand towel. “Go wash your face in our room. Change your shirt—you can fit into my normal clothes, right—and take a quick nap. Let me know if you need anything, hyung. You know Jun and I are always here for you. Look at me, hyung.”

Jeonghan looks up at Minghao who’s holding his face in his hands, thumbs stroking the tops of his cheekbones. He can see the stress leftover in his expressive eyes. 

“I’ll make sure the kids are entertained, so you can rest. The baby games are starting soon, anyway, I think so I need to get going. Pick any of my shirts, okay? Or Jun’s shirt. Leave this one in my laundry bin, and I’ll get it back to you in a few days, alright?”

Jeonghan nods slowly as he turns to go up the stairs to the couple’s bedroom. Minghao takes a moment to breathe deeply before heading out to the backyard, where he spots Jun, the love of his life, husband, and dumbest Alpha alive, sitting on the outdoor sofa with Wonwoo, and Joshua was actually entertaining most of the kids. Wonwoo has always been a little more quiet than either Jihoon or Hansol. But he got along well with both of the Chinese men, and he seemed to be having a deep conversation with Jun. 

Minghao made a mental note to ask about what they were talking about when Jun looked up briefly and immediately saw Minghao. After a quick exchange of thumbs up about Jeonghan, Jun rises and announces almost too loudly that they’re going to start the party games. 

After a few rounds of placing bets on delivery date, time, weight, and length, Minghao is starting to get a bit tired. He knows that his stamina for even simple things like walking about and socializing has steeply declined since he started showing so prominently, but it still frustrates him. He decided he needs to take a break from the party, knowing that Jun will understand. He walks past his husband and places his hand briefly on the Alpha’s shoulder, before going into the house. He heads up the stairs slowly, knowing Jun would be upset if he knew he was actually going up to the bedroom without assistance up the stairs. His joints have been aching recently, and things like walking up the stairs or getting up from sitting has become more and more challenging with his stomach getting weighing him down. 

Reaching the top of the stairs, Minghao takes a moment to take a deep breath, clenching his teeth to keep his tears of frustration at bay. Right now is not about me. I need to check on Jeonghan. His emotions had been all over the place since he got pregnant. That had been the first indicator that something was happening. 

But this was a story for another time. Minghao knocks softly on the bedroom door and enters to see a napping Jeonghan wrapped in a blanket. He sits on the edge of the bed and gently shakes him awake. 

“Come on, hyung. It’s time for the gender reveal. I know you can’t wait to know if you have a niece or nephew on the way.” Minghao says in the soft voice he reserves for only his closest friends. 

At this Jeonghan smiles smugly, “Of course. Gender reveal. I wonder what they could be. But also. Who let Jun know ahead of time.” Jeonghan winks as he gets up and leaves the room, letting it catch up in Minghao’s head . 

“Ya! That brat. He totally let it slip to you, didn’t he? I should have let him find out at the delivery.” Minghao fumes as he heads to the top of the stairs. 

“Hao, don’t worry. He happened to say her when he was talking about how much he was thinking about you. So really, can you blame him. For being so whipped for you?” Jeonghan teases as he puts a hand around the pregnant Omega’s waist to help him down the stairs. Jeonghan’s tone drops when he adds, “But he also mentioned he’s still a little worried. Don’t roll your eyes at me. You know it’s just because he cares. Regardless, we haven’t really hung out, had some good one-on-one time since you were still in your second trimester. And Lord knows I’ve clearly got somethings I should probably talk about. So maybe we can get together for lunch and an afternoon out sometime this week.”

They reach the bottom of the stairs and Minghao smiles at the suggestion. Even if it means he has to talk about his own insecurities, he also misses hanging out with Jeonghan. As much as he loves Jun—even though he can’t tell him this for the sake of keeping his ego in check—he has things he’s only comfortable discussing with another Omega. Worries and concerns he still has about pregnancy and babies. He knows that anything he could ask, Jeonghan would be the one who had the answer or comfort. There’s no one he knows that has had quite the range of pregnancy experiences, even if it was all before he had met him. 

They get outside and see Jun and Seungcheol moving a tray with a large white cake to the table, while Joshua is passing out nondescript white confetti poppers to all the guests. The white piñata in the shape of a baby bundle is hanging on the edge of the patio cover. Minghao remembers telling Jun that having a baby bundle piñata was weird, because you have to hit it, on top of the reveal cake and confetti poppers was a lot. But Jun had said, ‘Exactly,’ and continued on ordering all the things he wanted to. And Minghao has relinquished control over the baby shower to his husband early on in exchange for a little more time dancing. Of course he didn’t remain dancing after the doctor recommended he stop. But Jun had wanted him to stop a whole four weeks before he was required to, and Minghao knew he wanted to dance as long as he could for his own sanity. But now, this chaos of a gender reveal is what he had to deal with. 

Jun hands a bat to Seungkwan—not a good idea, Minghao thinks immediately—and grabs Minghao’s hand, heading back to the cake. 

“Perfect timing,” Jun whispers in Minghao’s ear, leaving tingles down his neck. He places the cake cutter in Minghao’s hand and wraps his own around it. 

“Oh, I get it now. You just wanted to do that sappy couples cutting a cake thing like at weddings, huh?” Minghao teases, but his heart actually flutters because they didn’t get to do this before. He didn’t think he had wanted to, but he’s grateful for the small chance to do something sappy and stupid with his sappy, stupid husband. 

Jun presses a chaste kiss to Minghao’s forehead as he yells, “On the count of three,

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!”

And on three, Minghao and Jun slice into the white cake, the guests fumble with the poppers until the pull the string, revealing a light pink shower of paper, while Seungkwan—now blindfolded—takes a swing at the piñata, actually barely missing hitting Chan in the face. 

“IT’S A GIIIIIIIRL!” Jun shouts as the rest of the guests clap and cheer. Now, most of the kids are crouched on the ground to avoid being hit my Seungkwan’s sild swings, while the piñata has also evaded almost any damage. Watching Hansol try to sneak behind Seungkwan and wrap his arms around the swinging boy’s, had to be the most entertaining part of Minghao’s day so far. There was a small yelp from the startled Seungkwan as Hansol took the blindfold off his sheepish face and proceeds to take bat and smash the piñata. All the kids are relieved as the grab as much of the pink candy as they can. 

All the adults just laugh at the chaos of letting a bunch of boys figure things out on their own. And as the afternoon turned to evening, the adults all headed to the dining to room to sip on mocktails of Jun’s unique creation, while the boys sat in a circle on the grass outside. 

~~~

[Chan POV] 

Outside in the yard, the boys were having a great time meeting each other. Soonyoung was sitting between Seokmin and Mingyu, Seungkwan leaning back against Hansol’s chest, and Chan, Wonwoo, and Jihoon completing the circle. 

Some of the boys already knew each other. Jihoon, Soonyoung, and Wonwoo are in the same year, and the same with Seokmin and Mingyu, and Seungkwan and Hansol. 

Chan takes a moment to side eye the two practically cuddling next to him, before glancing over at Seokmin to relay how hard he’s judging the two. Seokmin sends a smirk his way, chuckling gently. 

What he doesn’t notice is how Mingyu keeps glancing at Wonwoo, who is staring at the ground, fiddling with the blades of grass. 

The evening continues this way, Seungkwan making bad jokes, Seokmin mimicking Seungkwan, Hansol laughing at all of it, rolling around the ground, bringing Seungkwan down with him, while Jihoon laughs slightly, eyeing Soonyoung from across the circle who has a constant smile on his face, and Wonwoo continues to avoid Mingyu’s steady gaze. Chan gets teased because they all realize he’s the maknae of even the joint group of boys. 

Later, Jeonghan pops his head out the back door, calling for the boys to get ready to go. Chan gets up and wipes the grass off his butt. He ignores his older brothers as he sees Seungkwan and Hansol fall over again as they try to stand up without Hansol unwrapping his arms from around the other boy, and he’s pretty sure he spots Soonyoung slap Jihoon and Seokmin on the butts. 

Wonwoo seems to rush into the house ahead of Chan, and the rest of the boys make their way to their respective cars. He spots Hansol slip Seungkwan a small piece of cake before they split for the night. 

 

[Jeonghan POV]

After telling his boys to get ready to go, the heads back to let the rest of the adults know they’re heading out. They evening had been nice, sipping on virgin pink cocktails, signature drink of Jun. The tension that had built up between him and Seungcheol had been eased as the group talked. Not being alone with Seungcheol gave Jeonghan a chance to observe him without the pressure to talk directly to him. 

This Alpha intrigued him. He wanted to be friends with him. He wanted to get to know him. But he knows that that means that Seungcheol would get to know him too. He would have to share his past eventually. Have to explain where his kids came from. What happened to their dad. What had happened to make Jeonghan a single dad of five teenage boys at the age of 33. 

But instead of panicking again, Jeonghan takes a deep breath and gives both Jun and Minghao a hug and turns to tell Joshua to take his time before heading towards the front door. 

Before he can cross the threshold, he hears a quick patter of socked feet. He turns and almost collided with Seungcheol for a second time. 

“Before you go…” Seungcheol starts, before looking down where his foot is twisting on the ground. 

“Yeah?” 

“I was wondering if I could get your phone number. I mean, I’m pretty sure some of our kids are already friends so it would help to get to know other parents and I don’t know, maybe swap parenting tips or something, because you probably know it all, having five kids and all, but also you seem really interesting so I’d like to maybe grab lunch with you, but only if you’re free, I’m actually pretty busy but I can make my own schedule so it’s not a problem so whenever you are fre-“

Jeonghan manages to shut him up with a gentle hand on his arm, and Seungcheol’s eyes snap forward to gaze at the light brown eyes looking back at him. With a soft smile, Jeonghan holds out his hand, where the Alpha briefly places his hand, before realizing he meant for him to hand over his phone. He immediately bows a few times in an embarrassed apology while handing over his phone, open to the new contact page. After putting his number and email in and taking a photo for the contact, he returns the phone, missing how Seungcheol watched in awe as the Omega handled his phone. 

“See you later, Seungcheol,” Jeonghan says, turning to leave again when the other gets bolder and stops him from leaving again. Jeonghan is about to say something when he feels a light touch of warm lips against his cheek. 

“I hope so,” Seungcheol whispers while looking back at his feet and blushing hard enough to see in the dim light of the patio. 

Seungcheol rushes back inside and leaves an awestruck Jeonghan on the patio, hand on his cheek where the Alpha’s lips left behind a tingly feeling blooming. 

~~~

[Joshua POV]

He watched from the dining room as Seungcheol rushes back inside and can see Jeonghan’s flushed face on the patio. He quickly recovers and heads to his car to head home. 

He intercepts Seungcheol on his attempt to pass by to the dining room. 

“So… what was all that about?” Joshua leans towards the Alpha with a gleam in his eye. Seungcheol knows that his friend wants all the details but also doesn’t want to share. He wants to keep his small moments with the other man private, hoping for more. But with the way Joshua is looking at him, he figures he saw his last moment kiss. 

“Nothing. It was nothing. Let’s get back inside, come on. I need to say bye to the rest of them.” He says while pushing the Beta back into the dining room. 

“Uh huh, sure. I believe that 100%. Nothing. Nothing at all.” Joshua rolls his eyes, but leaves it alone for now. 

“Who’s kidding,” Seungcheol says to himself, “it was everything.”


	2. Here Goes Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan and Minghao have their friend date, and Seungcheol panics. That’s not news, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much like the chapter title, here goes nothing. This was written really quickly, not like in a rush, but in a flurry of excitement from all the encouraging comments and kudos I’ve gotten. I didn’t expect so much support on the story. 
> 
> That being said, I will definitely being going in on this story and see it through to the end. I’m too invested in the story and can’t wait to see it play out. As I mentioned in a comment on the last chapter, I know where it’s heading but I don’t know how it’s getting there yet. 
> 
> I’m probably not going to update this frequently as I get further into the story and need to manage my timelines. I had to make a spreadsheet to track the timing and dates for all the couples and storylines. And I’m still looking for a few more storylines so if you have any interesting plot points you’d like to see, feel free to leave them in the comments. 
> 
> And thank you to anyone who commented or left kudos. You give me life.
> 
> If you see typos, please let me know!!!
> 
>  
> 
> Flashbacks are italicized, btw

[Minghao POV]

The Omega looks around the small café. He had passed by the café a million times on his way to the train station but hadn’t paid it any mind until a year or two ago, when Jeonghan had invited him when they were getting to know each other.

Even though Minghao thought that the name Bang Bang--Bread Room--was stupid, it made sense because the pastries at BB were the best he had found in Seoul. He found himself having cravings for the brioche and taro swirl pastry at times. He would occasionally buy a salad, pastry, and coffee--or green tea, as he’s currently pregnant--and sit in the back patio area, where there were string lights hanging across the vine adorned brick walls. With soft acoustic music playing from speakers or a live band and seating tucked away in little alcoves, it was the perfect place to come and unwind or have intimate conversations. 

As Minghao makes his way to the back, he spots Jeonghan in their typical spot on the far edge of the patio, sitting beneath a large yellow umbrella. He doesn’t bother ordering because he knows that since he started having cravings, the only person who really understood or even predict them has been Jeonghan.

And just as Minghao sits down in the plush seating, a waiter sets down a salad with house dressing and cherries—not cherry tomatoes, but cherrys, Thanks cravings—a brioche bun with some more dressing on the side, and an iced green tea. Ever since summer rolled around, Minghao has had the worst time being pregnant and dealing with the heat and humidity. The only things he will drink are iced to keep himself cool. 

After exchanging a quick hello, Jeonghan asks about his most recent appointment. It’s been about a week since the baby shower and he just hit the eight month mark. 

“Well, I had my appointment two days ago. I’m at about 33 weeks now, right? And the appointment went well. My weight and the baby’s size are about on track now. But she did warn me that the last two months here could mean up to doubling in baby weight and more weight gain for me. Which is good for the baby of course, but I’m stressing a little.”

“Is it hurting physically?” Jeonghan asks while sipping on his own tea—not getting his usual coffee in solidarity. He knows how physically draining it can be to put on weight when it hurts mentally, as well. 

“Yeah, it’s gotten a little worse recently. Doctor said that the baby starts to fit more snugly so the kicks have been getting stronger. Or bigger maybe. But that, and also the stretching has felt more painful too. Aish, and the swelling.”

“Ah, the ankles.”

“Yeah, because I have such a low general body weight, and this baby has decided to add almost thirty pounds to me so quickly, my joints and feet have been swelling so badly. If I get up before Jun, I have him rub my feet before he can even leave for work. And I just can’t move around as I want to because I can’t even breathe fully anymore.”

Minghao looks out at the waiters flirting back and forth through the café and patio, getting distracted as a smile grows on his lips. 

“What is it?”

“Oh nothing, I mean, I know I was just complaining but suddenly I thought of the appointment and just, Jun, and had to smile, you know?” Minghao sighs deeply with his head resting in his hand, taking a bite of the salad and dipping a piece of the brioche into the extra salad dressing. 

“Ew, gross!” Jeonghan laughs as Minghao hits him playfully with his free hand. “I mean, I get it. Been there, done that, many times. But that’s the pregnancy brain for you. Baby just wants you thinking of happy things.” He adds with a smile. 

Minghao looks down at his belly, the large burden keeping him from scooting closer to the table or sitting with his legs crossed as he usually does. His belly is on the larger side of eight months due to his slim body. There wasn't much room inside his abdominal cavity, is what the doctor had said. He started showing suddenly, baby belly popping from a slight bloating to distinct and clear bump at around 3 months. The round ligament pain came just as his abs disappeared. He hadn’t been able to see his feet since the fifth month. And now his stomach felt so large that he isn’t sure how he’s going to go on for two more months. 

“It’s really cute though. Did I ever tell you about what Jun started doing soon after my first appointment. The one we went to and found out I was finally pregnant? He had left during his lunch to come meet me straight from his office, because I go to his college down the hall. And he comes in in his full doctors uniform, scrubs and stuff. And the moment I start to share the details of how I was feeling the last few weeks with the nurse, he starts to overanalyze everything in the way that only doctor husband can. I’m telling him to calm down, but it really got on my nerves to the point I kicked him out of the room.”

“Why didn’t Jun tell me this before!” Jeonghan can barely keep from laughing out loud, holding in his chuckles waiting for the rest of the story. 

“He’s probably embarrassed he wasn’t there the exact moment the doctor told me I was pregnant. And so, I realize now that I was having a mood swing when I kicked him out, but now Minghao stands by Then-Mood-Swing Minghao. I told him on the drive home—because he took the rest of the day off after I told him—that he either can’t come to any more appointments if he’s going to behave that way-”

“Oh my gosh, you scolded him like a child.”

“He needed to. He’s basically an overgrown man child. But yeah, if he’s going to question everything the nurses and doctors said, at a place he recommended for me in the first place, well he can just not come. Or he can take the day off so he doesn’t go into doctor mode at all. And he just said okay. Like, no arguing, no nothing. Just okay.”

“Aw, you’ve gotta admit that’s cute.” Jeonghan says, smiling at his little dongsaeng blushing and so in love. 

“Of course it was. So, obviously, I had to hit him for making me actually cry. I guess the hormones hit me really hard. Because remember my mood swings and how easily I started crying about everything those first few months.”

“Only the first few? Are you saying that if we watched Coco right now, you wouldn’t cry?”

“Okay, unfair, you can’t hit me with those family films. I’m about to be a father.” Minghao chides, wiping away a stray tear with the back of his hand. 

“I know, I know, but why did you both start watching all these family films anyway. You only have like 7 more weeks of being able to freely watch all the raunchy and action filled cussing-spectacular plotless rated R films.”

“I know, but Jun thinks it would be cute if the baby gotta watch movies with us, even before she’s born.”

Jeonghan smiles at the way Minghao blushes at this. “That is disgustingly cute. You two are so cute. Don’t try to deny that you are as whipped for Jun as he is for you. He’s just more obvious about it.”

“Shameless, you mean.”

“That’s not wrong. But… tell me more about how you’ve been feeling. I know it gets tough during the end.” Jeonghan changes the subject, reaching out a hand to rest on the younger’s. 

Minghao sighs deeply, and starts, “Its just- I can’t even take long walks now. My feet swell too muc- I had to take a taxi here, a café that’s usually a ten minute walk from my home. I waddle anyway. I can’t breathe easily. Like deep breath? Can’t. When I even cry too much, I start to choke because I can’t breathe that hard. Jun even got upset with me when he realized I walked up the stairs to get you from the bedroom during the baby shower. Thanks for the stroller. God knows I’m going to need it to work off all this baby weight. I know I need it for the baby… but I’ve worked so hard for my body befo-“

Minghao starts to choke a bit, getting worked up as he vents his frustrations, tears streaming quietly down his face now. He feels a squeeze on his hand and squeezes back. 

“I’ve got stretch marks. They won’t go away. Not really. I have so much weight to work off. It makes me want to stop eating the extra calories I know I need. It makes me want to ignore my cravings again. 

“But there’s also a part of me that wants to give in to them. I’ve never had a part of me fight so hard against another part of me. I’ve always had 100% of myself going in the same direction. Now, it’s like I’m sabotaging myself. The worst part is, I don’t know which side is the the one sabotaging and which is the one I want to side with.”

Minghao takes a deep breath before continuing, trying to not choke again, “I can’t even get off the sofa without trying some weird position. I just sit the sometimes all day, waiting for Jun to get home. And what would I do even if I could move. Go upstairs? Yeah, right. Jun would get upset if I try to use the stairs in my condition. It’s like I’m not in charge of my body. And I know Jun doesn’t mean it that way ever. To make me feel powerless. But that’s what I’m feeling. Powerless. My baby has taken away my independence.”

Minghao stops as he places his head against the table, or at least tries because he can’t get close enough with his belly in the way. 

Jeonghan takes a deep breath himself to relax. Even though it’s been years since his own pregnancies, the memories of each one manages to rush back in full detail in seconds. Jeonghan is used to the memories being triggered suddenly so he’s usually okay, like he is now. A few silent moments later, he picks up Minghao’s hand in both of his, placing a gentle kiss on his knuckles. 

“I know it’s hard. And I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy to accept all these sudden changes. Because you know that’s not true. But if anything, I can’t tell even explain in words how much the moment your baby is born and you hold her, that all of it will vanish. You will feel so on top of the world. You’ll forget all of it. For a moment. And then it’ll be chaos. So much chaos that you don’t have too much time to even think about the things that troubled you.”

Minghao laughs, imagining being actually busy compared to his last few months of being forced to take it easy. 

“You’ll have moments when you still can’t stand your body, but it helps to just take a look at your baby. Just look at her. Pick her up. And think about how hard your body worked to make her. Sure Jun helped but really, it was all you, Hao. You’re doing something amazing. And you know that if it’s anything self conscious that Jun would never look at your body any differently. He’s been so in love with who you are that I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone live for someone else the way he does. He’s completely dedicated to you. 

“And talk to him. He’ll never be able to understand. No Alpha ever will. But he will be able to support you. To give you space if you need it. To give you reassurance if you need it. To try his best to adapt to the sudden changes in your lives together. Share with him all your worries. Even if they don’t go away, he can make sure you feel secure besides. You two are in it together. Your bond mark and wedding bands say as much.”

Jeonghan nods towards the permanent bruised bite mark on the juncture of Minghao’s neck, and pauses to allow a slightly stifling summer silence to fall upon the pair. 

“Minghao, being limited by pregnancy is difficult. It can be the most difficult part for someone who is usually so active like you. But after the baby, you will be able to go back to dance, little by little. And you’ll also have this adorable baby who will love you so, so much.”

“Jeonghan hyung,” Minghao says calmly, “I think I needed this. I don’t know if I’m 100% certain about my feelings yet. Maybe we can schedule to meet up again, and talk about these things again another time. It doesn’t have to be a serious talk again. But just hanging out with someone who understands feels like such a relief. I’m going to go talk to Jun. Or, I guess, wait for Jun to come home while sitting in the couch.”

“But now that we’ve talked about me, it’s time to talk to you, Mr. Hotshot.” Minghao says, his eyebrows wiggling as he channels his wild university persona. 

“What are you talking about Jeonghan immediately questions, a blush starting to creep up into his cheeks.

“Don’t play shy. Joshua immediately told me and Junhui about you and Seungcheol at the front door after he left with the kids. Apparently, he got confident outta nowhere.”

“I guess, confident is a word for it.” Jeonghan says with a stony look on his face.

“Come on now, don’t give me that look. He’s a good guy, and he’s really great with kids, clearly. God, that sounded so generic. Look, to be completely honest, Seungcheol is one of the kindest people I have ever met, Alpha or otherwise. He is a good person. His heart has always been so open that he gets hurt a lot. He’s been in a bunch of relationships but only as long as they find out he has kids. He adopted them so young, or started fostering them. And a lot of people were turned off by that.

“Also, just something to think about. He was really young when he applied to adopt Jihoon and Wonwoo. He passed the application and interview with flying colors. He’s worked so hard for so long to get where he is. So if that says anything about what kind of person he is. I’m sure you’ve heard this from tons of guys, but really, he’s not like the other Alphas.”

He stops here, giving Jeonghan a chance to think. Minghao really doesn’t want to be pushy about this, but he wants Jeonghan to at least give Seungcheol a chance to be friends. He really does think that there was some strange energy between the two—until the panic attack. 

“One last thing, have an open heart.” Minghao grunts as he tries to stand, Jeonghan grabbing his hand to ease him up. “I don’t get this soft much-”

“Because if you did, Jun would combust-”

“Or never let me live it down. You can’t tell him this. But if I hadn’t given in to that goober in university, let him take me on that first date, then I wouldn’t have anything that matters so much to me now. Of course, I believe that I’d find happiness elsewhere, in a different universe. Even in this universe, I don’t think that Jun is my destiny or soulmate. That’s all nonsense. But I don’t thin- no, I know that there’s not another person that would make my path through life more exciting than it will be with Jun.”

Minghao takes a moment to stare into Jeonghan’s eyes and hugs him as tightly as he can, his belly getting in the way. “I’m not saying that Seungcheol has to be your soulmate. He doesn’t even have to be someone you spend time with. But I know him well enough to say that if you give him a chance, he won’t take it for granted. And I want you find someone who makes you feel as complete as Jun makes me feel.”

“Aww, Hao Hao, you've really gotten soft. I don’t know if it’s from Jun or the baby, but I’m looking forward to your little family. You’re going to be a good father.” Jeonghan rests his hand on the younger’s shoulder for a moment. “And always come to me if you need me. Don’t wait for it to be overwhelming. I know you’re strong, and help is for strong people, too.”

“Thanks, Jeonghan hyung. I’ll be leaving now.” He leaves some cash on the table to pay for their meals and heads towards the front of the café, waving at the waiter and calling a taxi from his phone, readying himself to focus on his baby girl being a blessing for the rest of his life and not a toll upon his body.

 

~~~

[Jeonghan POV]

He watches the Omega’s retreating back and lets out a deep sigh. It’s not that he doesn’t want to spend time with Minghao, but when they are together, Jeonghan tends to worry. 

Minghao was always an unstoppable force, while Junhui was, and still is, a force to be reckoned with. They were either going to be an explosive duo or perfect complements. Thank god, it was the latter. 

But since they decided to start trying for a baby, Minghao has had to face a lot of insecurities he never considered before. He hasn’t had too many complications physically, but the mental challenge of the ways pregnancy changes the body can be too much for anyone, particularly a dancer who’s pride was his body. 

Jeonghan knows what it’s like to see your body morph before your eyes into a body you don’t recognize, at the mercy of something growing within you. 

As Jeonghan sits at the café, enjoying the time he has to himself before he has to go back to his chaotic little world, he can’t help but be drawn back into his memories. 

Flashback 

Joshua must have just gotten back because he hears the front door open and shut gently. He thinks about calling out to his friend, but he probably knows that he hasn’t moved all day. Not that he has anywhere to go if he could get up easily. 

He hears the light steps down the hall towards his converted office-to-bedroom. The door peeks open and he spots a flash of Joshua’s light brown hair. 

“Shua, come in, I’m awake. Do you mind putting Seokie and Gyu into their cribs?”

Jeonghan motions towards the 9 month olds currently asleep on either side of him. They fell asleep after nursing and he didn’t have the energy to get up to put them down for their naps. His energy has been low since the beginning of this pregnancy, but his mental exhaustion didn’t really catch up with him until a month ago. 

He had been diagnosed with preeclampsia a few days ago. His doctor had looked at him with worry when he suggested termination, calling him high risk, a dangerous combination of his condition and pregnancy leaving him more prone to pregnancy complications. 

But Jeonghan knew he couldn’t. And so he had refused medical intervention. And then Jaesung took him back home and left without a word. But his leer as he left told Jeonghan enough. 

Not enough. Never enough. 

Joshua comes back after putting the twins down for their afternoon nap. He comes by the bed to sit by the Omega. 

“How are you feeling today?” The 16 year old Beta asks, placing his hand gently on his belly, sticking up starkly from under the blanket, protruding from the older boy’s lean frame. 

“Better than yesterday…” Jeonghan mumbles, while trying to sit up more, Joshua quickly moving to place some pillows behind his back. And it’s true, the day before Jeonghan had been plagued by a return of his morning sickness for almost the whole day. He’d had severe morning sickness—Hyperemesis Gravidarum—throughout all three of his pregnancies, courtesy of his OPIS. Today had been better, physically, at least. 

“Do you want something to eat or drink? Did you take your vitamins?”

Jeonghan shakes him head slowly as he turns into his left side, trying to calm the movement of the rowdy baby in his stomach. He hadn’t done anything all day—bed rest was mandated by the doctor—but the baby’s movements had been keeping him awake. He tries to tuck his legs in a curl up in on himself but his stomach gets in his way, as he settles on curling his arms around his stomach. 

“Hannie,” Joshua starts, placing his hand on the older’s waist over the blanket. “You know that what Jaesung said… He’s not right, you know? You did have a choice. I wish he hadn’t-“

“Well it’s too late for that now, huh? What could YOU do about it now?” Jeonghan snaps at this best friend, a suddenly flurry of anger taking over him. Anger at Joshua for bringing up the topic again. 

Anger at Jaesung for doing this to him again.

But mostly, just anger at himself for being too weak to take care of himself and putting his babies in danger. At his body for not working properly. For not being a proper Omega. 

His mood quickly turns, immediately regretting the way he yelled at his best friend. Joshua only ever had his best interest at heart, and he put up with all his mood swings and symptoms and complications. 

Joshua stands up and heads to the window, pulling the blinds shut, shrouding the room in darkness. He heads back to the door, “We’re having chicken and porridge for dinner. I come get you when it’s ready.”

Before he can leave the room, Jeonghan says softly, “Thanks Shua, I’m sorry.” He settles down to try his best and nap, while Joshua heads back to the living room with a sorrowful smile. 

Sitting back in his chair, Jeonghan smiles up at the lights above him, having just switched on. After noticing that the sun is starting to hang low in the sky, he gets up to leave. 

He believes that Minghao will be okay. He’s in a much better situation than Jeonghan had been to deal with the emotional and mental aspects of pregnancy, being a mature adult—most of the time—and in a loving supportive relationship. Along with financial stability and the support of his friends, he has Jeonghan and his myriad experiences. 

As he heads home, a short walk on foot, he ponders over what Minghao has said about Seungcheol, the mystery Alpha from the baby shower. He seemed nice enough, as most people do at first. But there was no telling how he really would behave if they got to know each other more. 

Along with the pregnancy complications of OPIS, he was left more vulnerable to Alpha pheromones. It had gotten him into a bit of trouble throughout the years when brazen Alphas got handsy, thinking they deserved whatever they set their eyes on, Jeonghan often being one of those things. He had sworn off relationships after he escaped Jaesung, but even after all he had gone through, he sometimes craved a human touch, to feel like he meant something, even for a night. He had been at what should have been the sexual prime of his life and taking care of five children, instead of going out and having a wild time in the throws of youth. And of course, instead of going to a club for his 19th birthday, he had been stuck at home, having the worst day of his life. 

Jeonghan stops that train of thought before he could get stuck in that memory. He’s spiraled down into sudden bits of depression from dwelling on the past too long, and he was currently walking in the middle of Seoul. He couldn’t just break down on the sidewalk. 

Instead he steers his mind towards Seungcheol once more. He had been nice, a bit forward with that kiss, but if he had seen his face correctly in the dim light of the patio that evening, then he had been just as shocked. 

It was kinda cute, the way he had blushed and ran away. It had been a while since he’d seen an Alpha be so bashful in his presence. It made him feel different than he had around any other Alpha. Even meeting Jun through Joshua and Minghao has been a little nerve wracking. 

But Seungcheol’s presence was unimposing, almost calming. And he was highly vouched for by two of his best friends. 

He didn’t owe anything to his friends or Seungcheol. But he owed it to himself to give himself the best opportunities for happiness. Despite his standoffish facade, on the inside, Jeonghan was still the hopeless romantic 14 year old that got taken advantage of because he believed too much in other people. 

He opens the up his phone, clicking on Messages and scrolling down a bit until he hit the message thread that Seungcheol had started the same evening they had met. A brief string of messages. 

‘Hi! This is Choi Seungcheol.’

‘From the baby shower. I hope you’re okay!’

‘Um, this is my number by the way. XX-XXXX-XXXX ’

‘But you know that… because you’re receiving this.’

‘Goodnight!’

Or not so brief. But that’s okay. Jeonghan found the erratic messages endearing. He hadn’t responded because immediately when he got home, Soonyoung had knocked over a glass bowl, Seungkwan had started screaming, Chan had started yelling to try and calm both of them down, while his twins just stood amidst the shattered glass, calming waiting for the floor to be cleared before be able to move. 

So he had forgotten to message back, even though he’s not sure what he would have said. That evening, he probably wasn’t in the best mental state to respond. But now, he was ready. 

More or less. It had only been years since he had willingly struck up a conversation with an Alpha he barely knew. 

Here goes nothing. 

 

~~~

[Seungcheol POV]

It had been a few days since he met Jeonghan, and his panic had still not died down. It wasn’t still at the forefront of his mind, but every time he tried to rest for a moment, it bubbles back up. 

Not only had he caused some kind of panic in the Omega after talking for five minutes, but he had kissed him. 

Kissed him. 

With his lips. 

And then ran away. He doesn’t know what came over him in that moment. Why would he kiss a practical stranger. Sure they got along for a while and the had a great time hanging out with the rest of the adults during mocktail hour. But he didn’t ask. He just went for it without asking. 

He had been a mess ever since. He couldn’t stop his thoughts from wandering to how ashamed and embarrassed he felt about it. He had burned the eggs he tried making the four of them for breakfast. He had always been a cautious driver, but now he is a Certified Nervous Driver™, the kind other drivers pass up and curse at for going to slow. Every time one of his boys asks if he’s okay, he jumps a little to shake himself out of his wallowing before saying he’s fine. If anything good had come out of these last few days, Hansol had seem convinced that he should learn how to drive. 

The other day on the phone with Junhui, he had gotten the third degree. 

“You did what now?”

“You heard me the first—and second—time, Jun. I kissed him.”

“Why would you do that? To anyone, let alone a stranger. Let alone alone, a good friend of mine who clearly had something traumatic in his past.

“Besides, where did this confidence come from? I’ve seen you interact with others before. And I never tagged you as a Confident Gay™.”

“One. A Confident Bi. And do you have to say ‘TM’ outloud?”

“Of course, my bad. You’re a Confident Bi Trademark.”

Seungcheol facepalms. Speaking to his best friend would always distract him from his real problems, which was usually a good thing. But right now he had to talk through his current crisis.

“Okay. But, two. I am the farthest thing from Confident Bi right now. I’m more of a Nervous Bi. Or even a Panicking Bi.”

He hears a small chuckle from Jun, before he says, “Hello Panicking Bi, I’m almost Dad. Are you sure you’re not good? Because Good B-”

“I swear Jun, if you’re about to make a bi joke, on top of that dad joke, then maybe I just will hang up.”

“Okay, okay, okay. Whatever Mr. Grumpypants. But honestly, I think you’re going to recover from this. Jeonghan is one of the most understanding and forgiving people I know, to a fault. He seems cold but that’s just because of what has happened to him. That’s not who he really is.”

“I just hope he doesn’t have a bad impression of me. I’m really awful with new people.”

“You’re not bad… per say. More like, people don’t get you at first. You’re a strange kid, and that just happens to come off stronger than the smart and kind sides of you.”

“Thanks, I guess. And who are you calling a kid. I’m your senior if you forgot.”

“That may be true in age, but we’re talking about the world of looooooove. Call me your love sunbae.”

Seungcheol can literally hear the wiggle of his brow through the phone. “Jun, if I told Minghao what you just said, how would he react?”

“… he would smack me.” Junhui immediately sounded dejected like a small child. The other Alpha had always been one for dramatics, a funny match for the serious demeanor of Minghao when they first got together in the Alpha’s third year. 

“But for cereal, what do I do? If anything, I want him to know I’m sorry for the kiss.”

“Seungcheol hyung, I’m not usually in the position to say this, but I think we’re too old to say that. But honestly, I would say give him time. If he’s ready, he’ll message you. You exchanged numbers, right?”

“OH MY GOD!” Seungcheol gasps when he remembers why he called Jun in the first place. 

“What, are you okay?” Jun is immediately concerned. 

“I messaged him last night after he left. He had added his contact info. I messaged him after he left.”

“What did you say!” Jun asks giddily, always one for gossip and drama and oversharing. 

Seungcheol pulls the phone from his ear, putting Jun on speakerphone since he was home alone, Jihoon out doing something, Wonwoo had headed to the library, and he’s pretty sure Hansol was just, you know, doing Hansol things. 

He opens up his messages and spots the message thread with the Omega immediately. He taps on it, before groaning at the reminder of how cringey he can be when he doesn’t think through this actions. 

“What, what did you send?”

“I messaged ‘Hi! This is Choi Seungcheol.’ And ‘From the baby shower. I hope you’re okay.’”

“Okay, not bad. Shows you were paying attention.”

“I’ve already used two exclamation marks.”

“Cheol… please…”

“And then I cleverly add ‘Um, this is my number by the way. XX-XXXX-XXXX ’ then ‘But you know that… because you’re receiving this.’”

“It’s okay. Don’t lose hope, hyung. We can save this. You really are a great guy.”

“Help me, I’m drowning in the tears of angels laughing at my struggles.”

“You’ll be okay. I’ve gotta go. Got some appointments today. Are you coming in today?”

“Not today. I backloaded my appointments for this week. But I’ll see you on Thursday right?”

“Yeah, see you then, hyung. Good bye.”

Seungcheol was staring at his cellphone, as if it had sent the messages on its own accord, when suddenly the face of an angel fills his screen. 

Seungcheol almost drops his phone before he realizes that he has to pick up his phone and stop staring at the screen. He swipes the screen and holds the phone up to his ear. 

“Hello?” 

“This is Choi Seungcheol, right? This is Yoon Jeonghan.”

“…” He can’t get a sound out, the Omega’s voice as soft and light as it was a few days ago when he met him. 

“Is this not the right number?”

“No, I mean yes, I meant this is Seungcheol. How’ve you been?” Nice save, Seungcheol. 

“I’ve been well, actually. I’m glad you responded. I was getting a little worried there.”

“You wouldn’t be wrong to be worried.”

“Really? Are you okay?”

“I am now. Ah, I mea-” Seungcheol cuts off, hearing the gentle sound of laughter on the other side of the phone. 

“I’m flattered. But I was just calling because I said I’d see you later. And well, I’d like to see you again, if you want.”

“That sounds nice. I’d love to. Are you free anytime soon?” Seungcheol says, heart beating faster at the possibility that he would be hanging out with Jeonghan soon. 

“Yeah, besides driving the boys around, a busy schedule in itself, I really don’t have anything much planned in the next week.”

“Okay, how about next Friday. I should be off for most of the afternoon and evening, hold on a second.” He quickly makes to check his calendar, humming as he scrolls through his appointments the next week. Yeah, tomorrow is no good, and weekend dates seems like too much. Maybe I’m overthinking it? Weekends are normal days, too. But Friday just manages to keep it so casual… He realizes he should probably go back to his call. “Okay, so Friday works for me. How about we schedule it in for 2? 2:30? Depends on whether you tend to be late or not.”

“I have a tendency to be late.” 

“Okay then, let’s plan for 2? So I’ll see you at 2:30, then.” He hears Jeonghan chuckle again, a heartwarming sound. He wants to hear it again. 

“But where are we meeting? Are you going to pick me up?”

“Oh no, I want to save the awkward car ride for at least the second time we hang out. It’s much too early for that now.” He earns a full laugh this time. “But I’ll message you where to meet. I’m not sure yet. And this way, you’ll be looking out for a message from me this time,” Seungcheol lets slip. 

“Have you been waiting for me to message?”

Damn. He picked up on that. “I don’t mean it in a creepy way. Just in a text etiquette way. I had already messaged you, probably way too many times in a row, so I couldn’t just message you again. I figured if you wanted to, you would.”

“And well, I did. I appreciate all this thought you put into not messaging. I did mean to message back. But the moment I got home, Soonie-ah broke a bowl, and in my household, that means chaos ensues until every bit of glass is picked up. Odds are, with five boys, that at least one of them is barefoot amongst the glass, and then they have to wait for it to be cleaned up to move.”

“Has this happened before?” Seungcheol asks, laughing and holding his side, imagining how his boys would probably do something similar. 

“Well a few months ago, Kwannie had thought it was a good idea to run into the living room with a bowl of oranges. He, surprise, dropped them, no, more like hurled them and the bowl shattered. Soonie was in the living room. But instead of waiting, he believes that if he isn’t stepped from orange to orange, he could safely pass through the glass.”

“What, NO!” He cries in disbelief. That’s some stupid shit that Hansol would try to pull, encouraged by Jihoon, of course. 

“He did try,” Jeonghan starts, laughter coming through the phone, “but he did not succeed. This story ends with me rushing Soonyoung and Seungkwan to the emergency room with glass in their feet and hands, while Mingyu cleaned up all the glass at home. I had asked him to wait for Shua to get home, but that big baby is such an adult sometimes, I swear.”

Jeonghan trails off, and Seungcheol can hear the affection in his voice for hiskids. As much as it must always be chaotic in the Yoon household, it must always be exciting, as well. 

“That reminds me, I don’t know if any of your kids drive, but if you ever need it, I can drive places. I’m sure it gets complicated with five.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“And I’m pretty sure that some of our kids are friends. Pretty sure I’ve seen Soonyoung at our house before. But yeah, if they ever want to come hang out here, the are welcome to have a playdate.”

“Cheol, I’m pretty sure your kids would rip your head off if you called it a playdate in front of their faces.”

“Oh I know they would, but I also adopted them past the age where it would be acceptable, so they all know that I like to act like their still babies, even though they’ve technically never been babies while I’ve known them. And Cheol…”

“Oh sorry, I tend to like nicknames and it just rolled off my tongue before I could sto-”

Seungcheol stops his word vomit quickly. “Don’t worry, I like it. Maybe I’ll find a nickname for you, too. Don’t tell me one, I want it to just roll off my tongue.”

“Aish, if I were there in person, you’d totally be shoved right now.”

“And if you were here right now, I’d be totally and irrevocably hurt. You can’t see, but I’m clutching my broken heart right now.” Seungcheol says, dramatically clutching his heart. 

“I can’t take back my actions now, can I? Ah, I just got home, I should probably go. See you next Friday. 2 o’clock?”

“Yep. See you at 2:30!”

And with that, both men hang up the phone at the same time. Seungcheol lets out a sigh. He had scheduled a date, or friend date, maybe a hangout, or whatever, he had scheduled to meet with Jeonghan again. He hadn’t been too freaked out by anything he had done so far, which was good. 

But now he had to plan this date-not-date. Did he go elaborate? Try to impress? Or go simple? Allow the conversation to—no pun intended—speak for itself. 

He flops into the couch and decides to give the date some time. He’ll think of something. Or maybe he should just go with his gut. Keep it simple, light, low expectations. An easy date with an angel. 

“Well,” Seungcheol thinks out loud, “ here goes nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: self-hate, more or less, mentions of hating pregnancy body changes, mentions of abusive relationships if you squint
> 
> I’d like to thank for mentioning that the kids felt sudden. It allowed me to add some panicking Seungcheol into the sorry. If you ever seen something that seems OOC, let me know, I’ll probably fix it with some panic in the next chapter. 
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment below, I’ll try to respond to each one, and share a plot point you’d like to see. I have a lot of room to add things so please share. 
> 
> And sorry for being a lot in these notes. My mind is usually just train of thoughts and that’s how I write. But thanks again for reading!


	3. In Over My Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, Hansol reveals his appreciation for butts, Jeongcheol have a picnic, and Chan is the most savage maknae.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I've been gone for so long. Classes were a lot this summer and I was a little stuck on the picnic part of this chapter. It's a little shorter, but I think I just really want to get to the next few chapters where I have a lot more planned to happen.
> 
> Anyways, I'm a little tipsy as I'm finishing this chapter up, so if there are a few typos on the latter parts, please forgive me, I will review this in the morning, but I really wan to get this out there.

[Mingyu’s POV]

There is still a month left of summer break and Mingyu wants to make the most of the time before school started. But August had only begun, and the heat is still unbearable, so here he was, with his youngest brother, Chan, and his friend, Hansol, watching a video together on the train, heading to the mall.

Mingyu isn’t looking for anything in particular, except for relief from the sun and being at home. His dad had been in a mood the past week, snapping at him and his brothers for lounging around or making too much noise or leaving their jackets about the house. He decided to shoot a quick message to some friends and Hansol had responded immediately--he swears that boy is always on his phone--and grabbed Chan to go shopping. 

Mingyu met Hansol earlier that year, a few weeks after the beginning of school, when he heard loud music playing in the hallway on his way to lunch. He followed the sound until he was met with shorter boy wearing chunky headphones, jamming out, clearly in his own world. But he must have not realized his headphones weren’t plugged in, because the phone was playing some English song at top volume.

When he tapped the boy on the shoulder, he whipped around with wide eyes, taking his headphones off one side. They stared at each other for a second before the shorter boy realized his music was just as loud without his headphones.

“Oops, sorry,” He said quickly as he turned off his music. He held out his hand and introduced himself with a smile showing off all his teeth. “I’m Hansol, first year.”

Mingyu shook Hansol’s hand. “I’m Mingyu, second year. You heading to lunch?”

And that was how Mingyu met Hansol and how Hansol met most of his brothers. The entire story. Don’t listen to anything Hansol wants to add, especially if he says that Mingyu said to call him sunbae after asking if he could join Mingyu’s little rap squad. That had certainly not happened.

~~~

The three boys are now wandering around the mall, Chan licking an ice cream Mingyu had bought for him, while Hansol is smiling at his phone.

“Whatcha looking at?” Chan asks him, trying to peer over the older’s shoulder. Hansol starts turning in a circle before raising his phone above his head to keep out of the shorter boy’s reach.

“N-nothing, hey, stop that, it’s none of your business.” Hansol cries while he now stumbled with Chan piggybacking and still reaching for his phone. 

“Stop it.. You two..” Mingyu says weakly, not really trying to stop the two. He knows he has no control over any of his dongsaengs. The Chan manages to wrench the phone from Hansol’s hand, running ahead and unlocking the phone to look through his recent messages.

“Ewwww,” Chan starts to whines. “You’re just messaging Seungkwan. Why are you smi- Oh my gosh, do you like hyun-mmhmhmhm?” Chan yells in the middle of the mall, until Mingyu covers his mouth with his hand and drags him to a hallway off the side of the walkway.

Hansol was now blushing heavily while taking back his phone from the youngest. Chan continued, mouth free, “Since when? I feel like its actually kinda obvious now that I think about it? You stare a lot. Are you going to ask Seungkwan hyung out? Do you think he likes you too? Should I ask him?”

“Chan, slow down so you don’t explode. This is why Dad doesn’t let you eat ice cream before meals. Let’s head to the food court so we can interrogate Hansol further.” Mingyu says with a wild grin on his face and puts a strong arm around Hansol’s neck.

A few minutes later, and all three boys are sitting in the corner of the food court, steaming bibimbap in front of them. Chan digs in immediately, before remembering his purpose.

“Sooooooooooo,” He starts, eyeing Hansol with a mischievous look. “How long?”

“How long what?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“If you’re talking about me and Seungkwan, there’s nothing going on.”

“Chan, give it a rest, maybe he just hasn’t realiz-”

Chan interrupts Mingyu with a snappy, “Mingyu, you’re no better. I saw you staring at Wonwoo hyung at the baby shower.”

At this, both Hansol and Mingyu’s mouths drop open. Since when had his little brother gotten so savage. But even if he had been staring at Wonwoo, it wasn’t his fault. He had been glowing and smelled so good, he couldn't keep his eyes off the other boy. So much so that he knocked over a tray of carrots, startling the other to run into the house. 

Mingyu is roused out of his recollection when Hansol asks if he’s gay.

“Not gay, bisexual,” Mingyu murmurs, not used to discussing his sexuality with anyone other than his Dad and brothers.

“Don’t worry about it, hyung, I’m right there with you on the why-choose-one train. I mean, both genders have butts, and sometimes guys have better butts.”

“You think Seungkwan has the best butt, don’t you?” Chan says abruptly, causing the other two to stop again, both wondering when Chan had really decided to let subtly out the window.

“Okay, yes, he does, but that doesn’t mean I like him. Like I could say that Mingyu has a good butt, that doesn’t mean I like him!” Hansol pauses for a second, before starting on a hypothetical, that if he did like Seungkwan, would Seungkwan even like him back. Seungkwan was an Omega and was probably looking for an Alpha. He shares his fear that he’d present as an Omega or Beta and not be good enough for Seungkwan--”I mean, an Omega,”--because so many people had told him he was too reserved or quiet or soft or easygoing.

Mingyu sees Hansol start to really worry and interrupts him. “First of all, being an Alpha shouldn’t come with any expectations besides ruts and biology. Who you are doesn’t change when you present. Second of all, how do you know whether Seungkwan is an Omega or not. By all societal standards, he could be an Alpha, he’s loud and obnoxious enough.”

“...he always smells like flowers…” Hansol whispers, cheeks turning a deeper red and scraping the burnt rice off the bottom of his hot pot. 

Chan pipes in to answer this on, that the scent is actually their Dad’s. Before they head out anywhere, their Dad usually scents them. Most parents stop scenting their kids when they get to that awkward tween phase, but their Dad had always been a little overprotective. Even when they had gone through that Dad-you’re-not-cool phase, they allowed him to continue scenting them as it made them each feel more secure.

Mingyu continues that their Dad probably knows what Seungkwan and Chan are, but won’t tell them before they present. He holds very strongly that they shouldn’t feel limited or expectations from their secondary gender.

Chan looks conspiratorially at Hansol, who’s nodding at this new information. “And if anyone asks, I didn’t say anything, but Seungkwan hyung doesn't care about secondary gender nearly as much as finding someone who will actually put up with his personality. As we all know, he can be a lot.”

Hansol shoots up out of his seat and slams his hands on the table, “But I love his personality!” He looks around and realizes he’s attracting a bit of attention. “Hey, maybe we should get going, I’ve scraped off so much burnt rice, I’m starting to eat bowl.”

The three of them clean up after their meal and head back into the shopping area. 

They continue shopping, Chan browsing through all the cute things in a shop they pass by, leaving Mingyu and Hansol perusing the aisles. Hansol picks up a small bunny plushie when Mingyu speaks up.

“So, even if you don’t know if you have a crush or not, I want to give you some dating advice. I’m not super experienced myself, most of it coming from not being able to turn down people’s confessions, but don’t feel pressured by what people expect. Don’t think that Seungkwan expects anything if he doesn’t say it. If you start dating, anyone, there aren’t things you have to do.”

“But if I turn out to be an Alpha and he’s an Omega, then won’t he expect me to take care of him?” Hansol turns to Mingyu with a soft look in his eyes.

“Think about what you just said. Seungkwan has never and probably will never need someone to take care of him. He’s strong and stubborn. If anything, he needs someone to care for him. Because as strong as he is, he’s just as insecure. He’s my brother and I love him, but there’s only so much that reassurance from family can do. 

“If you start dating--and this is strictly about you, not Seungkwan--just make sure there’s consent and communication. Relationships are about mutual respect and compromise. Wow, I’m starting to sound like Dad.”

Hansol laughs it off, “Don’t worry, Appa Gyu, I’ll heed your word. And I wanted to say something about Wonwoo hyung, but I’m not sure if I should say it now…” He trails off in thought.

Mingyu looks down at him like a kicked puppy, before stealing his expression as if he couldn’t care less about Wonwoo. “I mean, if you want to, say it, I guess.”

“Oh, well then, I was going to say, that when you and Wonwoo hyung start boning, don’t do it at our place, I don’t want to hear that.”

Aish, this brat! Mingyu mimes as if he’s going to hit Hansol up the head, because Lord knows that he deserves it, but he is a kind hyung and instead just runs his hand through his wavy brown hair before pushing him over lightly.

“That’s all I get from you? Yah, I practically gave you my hyung blessing to try to date Seungkwannie and you are just rude to me.” Mingyu sighs deeply. “But maybe, get that plushie. I know Kwannie loves surprise ‘just because’ gifts. Even little things. Particularly the little things. Means you’ve been thinking about him or something…” The older trails off, trying to act mad at the younger boy.

“Thanks hyung,” Hansol says while skipping off to join Chan in line. 

These kids are going to be the end of me. And I’m only 17, how am I ever going to reach the ripe ol’ age of 19 and finally be able to legally drink away my worries. He muses and runs a hand through his hair. It’s getting a little long, maybe time for a haircut. He looks down and sees a small metal bookmark with a colorful glasses pattern. Looks like Wonwoo hyung’s glasses, actually. Maybe I should get him something. 

Mingyu heads over to join the other two in line, who seem to be talking about a beach or pool, maybe, and gets distracted as he thinks about the older boy he had met for such a short time at the baby shower. He really had the most glowy skin, with the light of the setting sun reflecting off his face. He had seemed a bit tired and out of it, a faint warm scent wafting off the Omega, one he could recognize as the scent of a recent heat. Mingyu’s cheeks warmed slightly at the thought of Wonwoo in heat. Stop thinking about that, just focus on trying to actually talk to Wonwoo without scaring him like last time.

Shaking his head, Mingyu clears his mind of potentially dirty thoughts and instead thinks of the next time he might be able to see Wonwoo. And how to actually speak words instead of gaping his mouth at the older boy.

 

~~~

 

[Seungcheol’s POV]

Why am I so nervous? Seungcheol thinks to himself, as he glances back down at his watch. 1:45. He still has 15 minutes until he actually had messaged Jeonghan to meet him at the Han River. It was a hot day, the sun shining brightly upon the river and people loitering around the park. A perfect day for a picnic date.

Another glance down tells him that only three minutes have passed. He then checks his phone, even though he knows he’d get a notification if he had received a message, if only to smile when he sees the cute selfie Jeonghan had taken for his contact photo. It is in the same moment that he sees a little typing bubble pop up on the screen before becoming a message. ‘I just arrived at the Seoul sign. Let me know when you get here. I know I’m a little early.’

Seungcheol chuckles as he stands up from the picnic blanket, asking a nearby family to watch it while he’s gone for a second, and heads over to the sign to find the other man standing by the large red S and gazing out over the gleaming river, his black hair just long enough to be blown away from his face by the breeze. His fair skin glowed in the sunlight. 

Seungcheol has to remind himself that this is a just a hangout with a potential friend. Potential. He doesn’t think he has the privilege of calling the beautiful Omega his friend yet, as they had only spoken a bit at the baby shower when they met. But hopefully after today, he can confirm the feeling he had in his chest that was drawing him to want to spend time with the other. 

He starts towards Jeonghan again, ready to make a good second impression on the man, when Jeonghan turns and makes eye contact with him, Seungcheol’s mind going blank. For all of the Alpha’s smooth intentions, he immediately trips up the stairs.

“Are you okay? Are you alive?” Jeonghan yells as he runs to where Seungcheol is laying against the stairs, not moving. He groans and moves a bit, picking up his head just to see a worried face on the man crouching next to him.

“...an angel…” He manages to cough out after the wind was knocked out of him. When he gathers his thoughts, he rolls over to sit on the stairs, holding his head in his hands in embarrassment. 

“Seungcheol, look at me,” Jeonghan asks in a soft voice, as if he were coercing a stubborn child, and when Seungcheol peeks through his fingers, he sees the other holding out a hand towel. He brings his own hands away from his face and sees a bit of blood on his right hand. Aish, how embarrassing. I didn’t just trip in front of him, but I got a cut on my face. Then he feels the damp towel gently wiping against his face. He looks up and sees Jeonghan’s face closer than before. Then he folds the towel and places it back in his bag, pulling out a bandaid. 

“I hope you don’t mind Marvel.” He says as he peels the bandaid.

“Not at all,” he quickly replies, and the other places the bandaid on his face with a light touch. 

Seungcheol quickly realizes he is still staring at Jeonghan’s face and hastily makes to stand up, head colliding into the other who is still hovering above him. They both hunch over on the stairs holding their heads before glancing at each other and breaking out into laughter. Seungcheol clutches at his sides while Jeonghan tries to cover his mouth as he wheezes.

“okay , enough of that, let’s get to lunch.” Seungcheol gasps as he tries to catch his breath, waving the other to follow him over to the grassy area. 

“Are we ordering takeaway?” Jeonghan looks over at the patio plastered with restaurant flyers. 

“Nope, it’s a picnic.” Seungcheol gestures towards the picnic blanket they’re approaching, seeing the surprise on Jeonghan’s face when he spots the travel cooler bag sitting on the blanket. 

After sitting down on the blanket, he takes out a few sandwiches, a salad, a roll of kimbap, a container of kimchi, and a canteen of tea. He blushes when Jeonghan compliments his first taste of the kimchi, and gets even redder when he shares that it’s homemade.

“Oh, not by me, though. I had to make a few rolls to even have the kimbap turn out well. Jun had come over a few days ago to help me figure it out. Not that Jun is particularly good at cooking. We just watched a Youtube tutorial.” 

Jun had come over after a short phone call where the other Alpha was worrying about what to do for the date in a few days. Jun suggested making his own food, and then decided to help him. It had made a mess of the kitchen and resulted in several trips to the market to buy new ingredients after ruining the kimchi or burning the rice. They even ended up taking Minghao out to eat after their favor of taste testing their food resulted in Minghao face glued to the toilet seat for an hour. They got Shenzhen style Chinese takeaway despite Seungcheol’s aversion to spicy food and Minghao’s need to avoid spicy food during his pregnancy. Just once will be okay, he had pleaded to his husband, plus, your kimchi brought back my morning sickness and you vowed to keep me happy, didn’t you? Jun gave in almost immediately to his mate’s puppy dog eyes and hands caressing his 8 and a half month belly. 

“Oh, I completely understand,” Jeonghan replies, as he takes a bite of a sandwich. “I can cook well enough, I’ve been doing it for years now, but Mingyu is already a better cook than I am. He actually makes the whole family meals a few times a week. I don’t ask, he just does it.”

“That’s nice. My boys have an instant ramen addiction. If I don’t force them to eat dinner together, they’d just go down to the convenience store everyday for noodles and bread.”

Jeonghan laughs as he adds that it makes sense that their kids get along. 

“So, remind me. You’ve got Soonyoung, Seokmin and Mingyu, Seungkwan, and Chan?” Seungcheol asks, and Jeonghan nods, continuing on to clarify their ages, grades, and little details about each boy before asking about Seungcheol’s boys.

~~~

They continued talking about their kids, likes, dislikes, recent movies they’d seen, simple things. Nothing deep and that was fine in Seungcheol’s opinion. Hopefully this was pleasant enough that Jeonghan would want to hang out again, or even go on a real date. But he wouldn’t push it right now. He is really enjoying spending this afternoon with the Omega and imagines that any time he could spend with him would be worth it, whether the outcome is a relationship or not. 

It was hard enough finding other young adults with children and to find out that all of their kids went to the same high school (or will be in Chan’s case, Jeonghan’s youngest who is in his final year of middle school). Some of them were already friends it seems too. 

He glances over at the other man, who is staring out at the river once more, a comfortable silence encompassing their little blanket. The food is gone, and so are most of the picnickers from earlier. The sun is starting to hang low in the sky, heavy from the long summer day. 

Seungcheol wants to ask if they can do this again when Jeonghan looks down at his phone and startles. 

“When did it get so late? I need to pick up rice for dinner. You think you wouldn’t be surprised how fast six people can go through rice, but with five teenage boys, sometimes I’m still surprised.” Jeonghan chuckles as he runs a hand through his hair, eyes smiling as he looks apologetically towards Seungcheol. 

“No problem, I should probably head home too. Heaven knows what chaos mine have gotten up to.”

Jeonghan starts to clean up, and before Seungcheol can protests, says its in exchange for him making the meal. Seungcheol stands up holding the cooler and picnic blanket, pouting as he watches the other man walk back from throwing away the trash. 

“You’re cute when you pout,” Jeonghan pokes a puffy cheek. “But I hope you don’t act like a moody kid every time I have to go.”

Seungcheol perks up. “Every time? There will be another time?”

“Of course. Unless this picnic actually went horribly and I didn’t pick up on the atmosphere at all after spending the last several years mostly around teenagers.” Jeonghan gives a slightly wary smile, as if he’s really afraid this might be the case, and Seungcheol is quick to reassure him. 

“No, I had a good time getting to know you better and I’d love to do this again sometime. Maybe I’ll even practice my cooking. Maybe we can cook together even?”

“An interesting proposal you have there. Maybe sometime soon. Maybe when school starts again and we won’t have to worry about being interrupted.”

Seungcheol, despite his respectful demeanor, can’t help but to think of things that shouldn’t be interrupted, and he begins to blush. 

“Not like that, you pervert! I just know my kids, and the moment they smell food, they’d be on us like flies to honey.”

“Oh, of course, I really didn’t mean anything by that.” The Alpha blushes even deeper, embarrassed that he got caught thinking dirty things. 

They walk back towards the train station, Seungcheol waving goodbye to Jeonghan, who gently squeezes his shoulder, before blushing and going through the ticket terminal. 

“I’ll see you soon, Jeonghan!”

“You too, Cheol,” Jeonghan lets the nickname slip before he can stop himself. He blushes and starts to head faster towards the train when he hears the Alpha call after him. 

“Call me that if you want. I liked it. Later, Han!”

 

~~~

[Seungkwan’s POV]

He and Seokmin has just gotten home from a lunch date, or BooSeokTime as they like to call it. They had spent the afternoon in Myeongdong and got bingsu before coming home. They were currently just lounging on the sofa because no one else was home. He thought they had planned to learn that one new girl group dance with Soonyoung, but their oldest brother was nowhere to be found. 

“Kwannie?”

“Yeah, Min hyung?”

“You know how you totally have a giant crush on that boy in your grade, Hansol, from Uncle Minghao’s baby shower?”

Seungkwan immediately chokes on his spit. “What crush? On what boy? Han-who-“

“Uh huh..”

“Uncle Ming-who? Baby? Shower?”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“But, hyung, I don’t have a crush.”

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see you in the same room, and you’re not sitting in his lap.”

“I don’t sit in his lap.” Seungkwan sits up to pout at his brother. I don’t sit in Hansollie’s lap. I just sit near him. Because he smells nice. And laughs at my jokes. And has a really big smile but it looks better up close. 

“Ignoring your lies, how does he make you feel?”

“What do you mean, hyung?” Seungkwan asks, tilting his head to the side a little. 

“I mean, like, how do you feel inside when you’re near him? Do you feel different around him than other people you’re close to?” Seokmin clarifies, looking sincerely towards the younger. 

Something in his tone made Seungkwan take his question seriously and forget about his mission to deny any feelings towards the younger boy. “Well, it’s hard to explain exactly. It’s like... and this is probably ridiculous sounding, but it’s an understanding, like family, but different from family because he doesn’t have to laugh at my jokes, not that my own family does, but he seems to be on the same wavelength as me. Like when I’m thinking something, I think would understand it. And because he’s not related to me, he doesn’t have any obligation to spend time with me or like me, but he does anyway.” Seungkwan sighs deeply before continuing. “I’m rambling, and I probably didn’t make any sense. But it’s like I trust him. And I don’t even know if he likes me. But I already trust him. Even if we stay as friends, I trust him as much as I trust you or Dad.”

Seokmin and Seungkwan let out deep breaths as they both lay back down on the sofa. 

“Wow. Seungkwan. That’s a lot.”

“I know. I’m in too deep. Ever since Gyu hyung brought him to lunch in the beginning of the semester, I’ve been doomed to like someone who won’t like me back.”

“How do you know?”

“Are you kidding me? Do you not have eyes? He’s gorgeous. And he’s bisexual, I’ve heard. Or at least, he gets confessions from boys and girls. He hasn’t even presented, and there’s a rumor that that really pretty Omega from third year, I think her name is Joyeon, confesses to him last month. And he turned her down. If he’s turning down people like her, then what chance do I have? He’s a solid 9 ½ because there’s always room for improvement, and I’m like a 4 on a good day. I’m not particularly smart, I don’t have a good body, and my face is puffy more often than not.”

“Seungkwan, what did I say about focusing on things lik-“

“I know, I know, hyung. I have my talents too. Yadda yadda yadda. But just because you and Dad see good things, doesn’t mean that Hansol does.” 

Seungkwan and Seokmin just sit there staring at each other from across the sofa. Seokmin scoots closer to wipe a stray tear from Seungkwan’s cheek. 

“Stop it. You’re worth more than hoping and waiting for a boy to notice you. Yoon Seungkwan. A force to be reckoned with. He probably couldn’t handle your awesome anyway.”

“Thanks hyung... But anyways, why did you ask about Hansol anyway?”

Seokmin looks hesitant, as he opens and closes his mouth a few times before starting. “I know that Dad’s always saying we can share anything with him, but I think I want to run this by someone else first.”

Seokmin takes in a deep breath again before starting once more, “I think I ma-”

The door suddenly swings open and Soonyoung rushes into the house. He kicks off his shoes and starts up the stairs.

“Hi Soonie hyung!”

Soonyoung peels his head down the stairs. “Hi Minnie, hi Kwannie, what’s up?”

“Do you really want to know? Because you seem to be in quite a rush.” Seungkwan comments as Seokmin’s eyes widen. 

Seokmin might have presented as a Beta last year, but his sense of smell had always been stronger than your average Beta and even stronger than some Omegas and Alphas. So it was no surprise that he picked up on the strange scent that hung heavy about his older brother. The surprise comes when he feels like the scent is familiar, but who’s is it? And why did it smells so… musky?

“Kwan, you know I always have time for my favorite dongsaen-” Soonyoung starts before he is quickly interrupted by an excited Seungkwan.

“Then, did you learn the dance we wanted to learn, you know, the one by-”

“Ah ha!” Seokmin yells, jumping up so he’s standing on the sofa, pointing an accusatory finger towards the oldest in the room. The two other boys turn to stare the Beta. “You smell like Omega. And it’s familiar too, I just can’t pinpoint who it is.”

Soonyoung looks guilty, as if he’s been caught, which he supposes he is.

“OH MY GOD? Soonie hyung, is there an Omega you like? Wait, hold on, I can smell it now too. Wai- wh- OH MY GOD! That’s where you were? You were doing it with that Omega you mentioned you liked. Hyung is getting it, huh? You totally smell like se-” Seungkwan shuts up when Soonyoung slaps a hand over his mouth.

In the same moment, their dad opens the front door and is met with the scene of Seokmin standing on the sofa, still pointing where Soonyoung had been moments before, while Seungkwan is struggling to wrench Soonyoung’s hand from his face. 

“Is… everyone okay?”

“Yeah of course.”

“Uhhhh…”

“Sthoyung ith thucky wifth ah umugugh.”

 

“Okay, well, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thanks Dad!”

After their dad goes to his room, Soonyoung releases Seungkwan and is immediately barraged with questions.

“Wait, so that basically confirmed that you are doing the do with someone. Now who is it? And when do we get to meet your new boyfriend?”

Soonyoung face fell after hearing what Seungkwan said. 

“Soonie hyung?” Seokmin asks softly. He thinks he’s placed the scent now, and if the look he exchanges with Seungkwan means anything, then the younger figured it out too. “Did you and the Omega… break up?”

“...we aren’t dating. Don’t tell Dad, please..?” Soonyoung looks down and heads up the stairs to his room. 

Seokmin looks at Seungkwan, the silence left in the room permeating through them. They both know that the older Alpha lives with his heart on his sleeve. He was always expressive, an open book, and usually shared everything with his younger brothers. The fact that he hadn’t mentioned this relationship worried both of the younger boys. 

“You know who it is, don’t you?” Seokmin says to Seungkwan. Seungkwan nods back, and Seokmin wants to check that they’re thinking about the same feisty Omega. “ It has to be J-”

Like clockwork, the door slams open again, and the final two members of the Yoon household run in, Chan leading the way.

“Hey hyungs, I invited Hansol and his brothers to our beach day next week! Aren’t you excited?” Chan beams at the two he finds in the living room. Mingyu follows, carrying a small bag from their shopping trip.

Seungkwan’s thoughts of the reason for Soonyoung’s despair are immediately replaced with images of Hansol at the beach, shirtless, wet, glistening in the sun. Him running his fingers through his salt soaked hair while the sun reflects on his dripping skin. 

Oh no, Seungkwan thinks, I might be in over my head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONUS MOMENT:
> 
> (This didn't fit into the chapter, but I thought of it and want to share)
> 
> And particularly more of a lie was that on their shared birthday in February, that when Mingyu brought a cake for Hansol, Seokmin, and himself, Hansol totally didn’t bring a considerably messier cake with ‘SUNBAE&HYUNG’ written sloppily on it. Uh uh, a complete and utter lie.
> 
> If you guys want little bonus moments or flashback and just things that I imagine happen but don't fit into the chapter , let me know. I can add a moment of two at the end of every chapter maybe?
> 
> And once again, comments and constructive criticism is welcome. This is my first fic so the things I think of in my head amy or may not turn out well in my words, so if something is confusing or could be written better, let me know. I may edit it or just keep it in mind in future chapters.
> 
> Thank you for waiting so long for this next chapter. I will try ot update the next chapter more quickly.


	4. I Could Get Used To This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beach day for the Chois and Yoons ft. our favorite China Line
> 
> Last chapter took forever for me to update because I really wanted to write this chapter, so this one was written really quickly, so fast update for anyone out there reading this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again here I am, posting a chapter. I post them as I finish them, that's why it's so erratic, maybe I'll start a real schedule.
> 
> Anyway, I'll try to update once more before school starts in a week, because I mainly know what is happening next.

[Joshua’s POV]

It had been a few hours already since the two families got to Eurwangni Beach in Incheon. Joshua had driven over with the Yoons around 11am and were met with the sight of Seungcheol trying to rub sunscreen into three excited teenage boys. (This is why Jeonghan always made sure his boys slather on the sunscreen before even getting into the car.) Upon spotting the car parking nearby, the three boys ran towards the car, leaving their dad with an oozing bottle of sunscreen. 

It is now around 1pm and Jun and Minghao finally arrive. At 35 weeks, Minghao is absolutely glowing in the afternoon sun, a wide brim hat similar to Jeonghan’s adorning his head, and long robe-like cover up draped around his shoulders and flowing down past his large belly.

Jun came running around the car to grab a large bag and cooler before catching up with his husband to wrap a gentle arm around his waist. He was wearing a rashguard because, as Minghao tells Joshua, if I can’t have abs at the beach, you can’t have abs at the beach. And if you get a sunburn, I can’t rub aloe all over you because I can’t even reach parts of my own body right now.

“Boys, your favorite uncle is- Ugh, Hao baby, why did you elbow me, oh. Your favorite UNCLES are here with lunch!” Jun sits himself down on a towel after setting up a beach chair under Joshua’s beach umbrella for Minghao, who eases himself down. 

The boys all rush towards their Uncle Jun, leaving behind whatever they were doing. Wonwoo helps Soonyoung up and out of their giant sandcastle—or hole rather—they’d been working on since noon. Hansol and Mingyu rush in from the water, dragging their boogie boards in behind them. Seungkwan, Chan, and Jihoon leave Seokmin behind where they had buried him in the sand.

“Towel off and reapply sunscreen before you get sand in the food.” Joshua instructs the boys, and Seungcheol and Jeonghan immediately whip out large bottles of sunscreen from where they lie in the sun, tossing them towards them. “And don’t forget any spots. If you chose to not wear a rashguard, then make sure someone else checks your back. Wonwoo, don’t look at me like that, you could have worn one if you wanted to. Hansol-ah, you too.”

A few minutes later, and Seungkwan and Mingyu are blushing from having helped Hansol and Wonwoo with rubbing the sunscreen into their backs. Soonyoung is smiling as he rubs extra sunscreen onto Jihoon’s face, bopping his nose before running away from Jihoon’s threat of smacking him with his sandal. Joshua heads over to where Seokmin is still buried in the sand, which must have been a really deep hole because there’s no sign of his body beneath the sand.

He helps the boy pull himself out of the deep hole in the sand, brushing some of the sand out of his hair and shoulders. Joshua starts to head back to where most of the boys have started to dig into the trove of convenience store food Jun had brought with him, when Seokmin stops them.

“Uhh.. Uncle Joshua, can I ask you something? Before we go over there?”

“Sure, is something wrong?”

“No, uh, I mean, I don’t think so…”

Joshua isn’t really worried because he knows that Seokmin is a good kid, but he also hasn’t seen the usually confident Beta this uncertain before. “You can share anything with me, you know I think of you as practically my own.”

Seokmin nods at the ground before mustering up his courage to share. 

“Well, I was wondering about-”

 

~~~

[Jeonghan’s POV]

After making sure all the boys reapplied their sunscreen, Jeonghan stands up to grab some water bottles from the vending machine. Seungcheol scrambles to join him.

“I’ll help you carry them, you know?”

“Uh huh.” Jeonghan smirks, allowing Seungcheol to make the excuse to spend more time with him because Jeonghan wants to keep talking to him, too. They had spent most of their time lying in the sun and talking. And Jeonghan had to admit that he could see himself spending more time with the Alpha, maybe even starting to have a little crush on him. Because who wouldn’t be drawn to this smiling, gentle dork of an Alpha, who’s broad shoulders happen to be quite visible underneath his rashguard.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you,” Seungcheol says as they reach the parking lot and the vending machines, looking down at the ground, one foot attempting to brush sand off the other.

“About what?” Jeonghan says after waiting for the other to look up. 

“What if I were… to say… that I think I like you? As more than a friend?” Seungcheol says in short bursts, eyebrows furrowed as he worries his pink lips between his teeth.

Jeonghan heart skips a beat, and he motions for him to follow as he starts to walk back onto the beach but in the opposite direction from where they came from. 

“Before you get the wrong idea, I don’t expect anything in return from you right now. Or ever. And it’s not a physical attraction, or, well, not just a physical attraction. Ahh. Why am I so bad at this. I want to continue to get to know you, but I want you to know that I like what I keep learning about you.” He rambles on as he follows the Omega down the beach.

“And I want to reiterate that you have no obligation to keep hanging out with me if this makes you uncomfortable, but if you’d let me, I want to prove that I am a trustworthy individual, worthy of your trust, not that that even means you have to give me the time of day, but I want to make sure you know that I would be serious about it if we became something and I would take care of you, not that you or any Omega needs to be taken care of, but ahhhh…” Seungcheol trails off in a soft shout. He looks over to see Jeonghan laughing slightly and blushing, or maybe that was just from the sun.

“How long were you going to let me go on like that. I’m so embarrassed.” Seungcheol hides his blushing face behind his hands.

Jeonghan pulls his hands away from his face as he says, “I actually thought it was cute. Plus, I’ve learned that letting you tire yourself out if the best way to end your ramblings. But now, if you’ll listen to me. I think that I’d like to, though.”

“Like to what?” Seungcheol says with a blank look on his face.

“Date you? If that’s what your ramblings meant?” 

“Of course. If you would do me the honor.”

Jeonghan smiles as he listens to the Alpha ramble on again in excitement, saying how he will respect and treasure the chance to date him and doesn’t want to cross any boundaries and won’t judge anything in his past or try to play up gender dynamics or take this chance for granted. 

Jeonghan falters for a second, feeling Seungcheol’s eyes fall to him. “You did the baby math, didn’t you?”

Seungcheol looks caught red-handed as he starts to stutter.

“It’s okay, really. But you mentioned not judging my past, so you must have thought about it.” Jeonghan starts walking again, at a slower pace this time, now that they’re reaching the end of the beachfront.

Seungcheol looks sheepish before replying, “I did, and if you’re my age like Jun mentioned before, then you had to have been like 16 when you had Soonyoung.”

Jeonghan is used to how people get uncomfortable making the connection between his kids’ ages and his own. It was nothing new, and it barely phased him now. “Actually, I was 15, I’m not 34 quite yet.”

Seungcheol looks over in shock. “Well, I just turned 34. Yesterday, actually. Not much better than 33 so far.”

“Oh is that so?” Jeonghan smirks as he stops and as Seungcheol turns to ask why he stopped, he’s met with two soft lips on his cheek. “That’s a late birthday present. I wish you had told me, I would make tried to get you a gift of some sort.”

“Don’t worry about that. 34 is better than 33 already.” He whispers in a daze, hand coming up to touch the tingly spot where warm lips had been for the briefest of seconds.

“Anyways, I had Soonyoung when I was 15, I had the twins at 16, Seungkwan at 17, and Chan at 18. I guess you could say I was a busy teenager.” Jeonghan chuckles uneasily, seeing that Seungcheol wasn’t finding this really humorous. “I had four full-term pregnancies in four years, essentially. But those stories are for another time.”

“I understand completely.”

“And you have shown that. That you can be really understanding. And I know I haven’t known you for long, but you already seem so ready to try and be someone I need in my life. And I want to give a little back to you, to show that I’m also trying to be open to this. To something so… new.”

Seungcheol listens and nods, pleased that he had succeeded in gaining a bit of the other’s trust. Jeonghan moves to sit on the sand at the end of the beach, a bit distanced from the other patrons of the beach, and Seungcheol joins him, sitting crisscross with their knees almost touching.

“Okay, this might be a little hard to say, because I haven’t had to think about this much since I was a lot younger. But it’s obvious that my pregnancies were all really close together. Because of this, my… body… never really bounced back. I know that most Omegas are built to snap back pretty close to their original pre-pregnancy body after a few months. But I… never had those few months… So I have stretch marks… a lot. Especially after the twins because they were both such large babies. But there are so many stretch marks—not the cute kind—the thick, angry, raised, ugly kind. And my abdominal muscles are permanently damaged from so much yoyo-ing in my weight. I never wanted washboard abs or anything, but I can’t even do anything to fix it…”

Seungcheol had been staring at the ground, but when he heard some sniffling, he turned to see Jeonghan staring out at the glistening water, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. His lips are shaking as he takes a deep breath. 

“Is that why… at the baby shower? I accidentally touched your…”

“Yeah, it’s not your fault at all, in case you were thinking that. It’s all me. But yeah, I panicked when I felt someone touch my stomach. I was… afraid.”

“Afraid?”

“Yeah, afraid… of an Alpha… criticizing me for my body… Which is something I wouldn’t expect from you after getting to know you even during the rest of the baby shower. B-but… very young, I was told to fear Alpha’s and their power over Omegas, not because I shouldn’t be taken advantage of but because if I failed to listen well and be a good Omega for my Alpha, then I would regret it. But that is also another story. Someday though.  
“I never cared much how I looked when I was in elementary or middle school. But after my last pregnancy…”

“Chan?”

“Uhh, yeah… well, so after that I became a little obsessed with my body for a while, and I hated it. Even now, after coming to terms with this is how my body is, appreciating it for the wonderful kids it has made me, I still hate my body. And I really do love my kids, I don’t regret a single one of them, just maybe… if there was more time. Being an Omega, I was always expected to have a thin and sensual body, one that can attract a mate and promise strong offspring… I don’t know if I could ever really love this body…”

Jeonghan looks down at his lap, tears finally escaping slowly down his cheek. 

“Hey, don’t cry.” Seungcheol reaches a slow hand out to wipe away a stray tear with the pad of his thumb, before lowering his hand, hovering in the air. “Is… this okay?”

Jeonghan looks at the outstretched hand, eyes darting down towards his own stomach before meeting the Alpha’s soft gaze. It takes a few seconds for Jeonghan to nod, holding the gaze.

Seungcheol slowly lowers his hand to meet Jeonghan’s side, rubbing his thumb lightly over the rashguard. He moves his hand slowly towards Jeonghan’s front, his palm open and lightly skimming over the fabric of the swimsuit. Jeonghan holds his breath as he feels the gentle pressure of the Alpha’s large hand on his stomach.

“Breathe.” Seungcheol gives him a soft smile, breathing deeply himself. Jeonghan mimics his pace and calms down a bit. 

Seungcheol can feel the ridges of the aforementioned stretch marks through the thin fabric of the rashguard. The skin seems to give a bit with the small circular motions he’s making with his hand. ‘I bet the skin is really soft.’ 

Jeonghan manages to stop himself from breaking down when he feels a tear land on his hand. Looking up, he sees tears now streaming silently down Seungcheol’s face.

“Cheol?”

“I c-can’t say for anyone else but me, but at least to me, I don’t understand how you could ever see yourself as less than beautiful. I know we haven’t known each other for long, but…”

Seungcheol looks up to meet Jeonghan’s lingering gaze. Somehow, Jeonghan finds the mixture of tears and determination in the Alpha’s gaze to be almost ethereal. He almost doesn’t even notice the other leaning towards him until he realizes that Seungcheol is glancing softly down at his lips.

“Is this okay?” He asks, a few inches away from the Omega, hand now back on his side, thumb caressing a single stretch mark he feels beneath his thumb.

Jeonghan leans a little closer and breaths out, “Yeah.” And he closes his eyes, leaning up to meet the Alpha’s lips.

Seungcheol had kissed Jeonghan on the forehead before, and Jeonghan had kissed Seungcheol on the cheek earlier that day. But the feeling of Seungcheol’s gentle pink lips pressing lightly on his own felt reassuring. It was a short a chaste kiss, no tongue, no sucking or biting, but it was more meaningful than any kiss he had ever had before. A second later, they both pull away, Jeonghan opening his eyes in time to see the Alpha’s long eyelashes flutter open, mouth hanging slightly open. Jeonghan licks his lips out of habit.

“Mmm, salty.” This makes Seungcheol blush, but he steals his expression for what he wants to say.

“Jeonghan… I would tell you that you are beautiful everyday if I thought that it would be enough, but anyone objectively could look at you and say that. I don’t want to be anyone. I want to be the one who gets the chance to know you and make you see what a wonderful person you are inside where it really matters.”

“Aish really? That’s your response to me saying you taste salty?” Jeonghan stands hastily, blushing fervently at the words. He heads back to where he remembers their families are waiting for them to bring back water bottles. Seungcheol scrambles to stand as well, rushing to match the Omega’s strides. He feels a delicate hand gently ease into his own. He looks over at Jeonghan.

“Hannie?”

“Is this okay?”

“Yeah, yeah it is.”

Seungcheol squeezes the smaller hand, intertwining their fingers, and receives a soft squeeze in return. 

Jeonghan releases the hand once they reach the vending machines, but clearly not before Joshua and Minghao see. They must have gotten tired of waiting for them to bring back water, and gotten up to get it themselves. Jun must be preoccupied with all the boys in order to have let or not notice that Minghao got up to get the waters. But judging from the looks they both received from the particularly judgemental gentlemen, they weren’t impressed by their likely excuse for taking so long.

“We were getting the waters.”

“Yeah right.” MInghao snaps back quickly, arms crossed over his protruding stomach, making him look more comical than stern, but that didn’t stop Seungcheol from immediately spluttering and blushing. Joshua puts an arm around the older’s shoulders and leads him back to their area of the beach after grabbing several water bottles. 

“Now, will you tell me what you were really doing?” Minghao looks at Jeonghan with the most ‘takes-no-shit’ expression, if Jeonghan had ever seen one. Jeonghan sighs, knowing that his friend wouldn’t judge his actions but still embarrassed at being caught doing PDA. Jeonghan grabs a few water bottles himself and hands Minghao two because he’d never hear the end of it if he didn’t. ‘I’m pregnant, not disabled, hyung.’

“We might have… uh, decided to start dating?” Jeonghan says softly, scratching his arm lightly.

“He didn’t force you right?”

“Of course not, Hao. You know that man couldn’t force anyone to do anything.” Both men know it’s true. The Alpha couldn’t even kill a fly. He was well known for having to have his own kids handle bugs in the house. Numerous times Jihoon had to kill a spider, but he always lied to his dad that he caught it and put it outside.

“Well, in that case,” the pregnant Omega loops his arm in Jeonghan’s and heads towards the rest of their friends and family, “I’m glad. That he didn't make a fool of himself too much. And that you feel ready to open up to someone new.”

“Yeah, I told him about the panic attack from the baby shower.”

At this, Minghao looks over with a surprised expression. “Really now? So you told him about Ja-”

“No. Not yet. Probably not soon either. But I told him about my stomach…”

Minghao looks down at his own pregnant belly, nodding softly in understanding. His own size had been a difficult thing to accept. His baby was on the large side, and his own body had always been on the lean side, underweight even, if you didn’t take into account his activity level. It had become an issue in university at a point, where Jun had commented on his weight while eating lunch together, a few months after meeting each other. 

[Minghao Flashback]

Minghao had never been one to be concerned about his body. It had become toned from years of dancing and conditioning, but he had never consciously thought about gaining muscle or his weight. But in that moment, something in his mind must have switched, and he became obsessed that his low body weight was unattractive. Maybe because he had never dated—or whatever this relationship was—anyone before Jun, never had someone see his naked body more than once for a one night stand. But suddenly, the thought of Jun being disgusted with his body but holding it back for his sake. 

Minghao choked on the salad he was eating and excused himself to the bathroom. He stripped off his shirt and look at himself in the mirror. ‘Too thin. No curves at all. Disgusting.’ What kind of Omega was he? He didn’t have any curves the way the most conventionally attractive Omegas did. The kind of Omegas that were always cooing at Jun—his almost boyfriend—whenever they would go out. Maybe it was because Minghao wasn’t one for too much PDA and it made them look like two bros just hanging out. Maybe if I looked more like an Omega, then others wouldn’t be trying to take him away from me. 

Minghao prodded at his stomach. Firm. Nothing to hold onto. Nothing to help keep Jun warm at night when they cuddled. Hips too narrow to have babies. Not enough body fat to keep a baby healthy in the first place.

In a matter of seconds, all of his family’s traditional teachings burst back into his mind. He had done a good job at suppressing all of his family’s traditional beliefs on secondary gender dynamics and roles during his teen years, when he adamantly wanted to become a dancer. Going against his parents’ wishes in one way made it easier to break away from that belief system as well. 

But now, his mind was flooded with all the ways he was failing to be a good Omega. He wasn’t obedient to Jun. He always sassed him and talked back. He rarely listened. He wasn’t a subservient Omega. He didn't cook for Jun. He never had dinner ready for him when he came back from late classes. 

Minghao didn’t realize how heavy his breathing had come as he wrapped his arms around his naked abdomen until he hears a knock on the door, and his breathing stops altogether. 

“Hao baby? Are you okay? You’ve been in there for a whi- Are you crying? Let me in, please?”

‘There he goes again, asking for my permission. He shouldn’t have to.’ Minghao scrambled to open the door for the Alpha, not wanting to disobey him, especially if he was going to be so respectful to a lowly Omega like him. 

“Oh Hao, are you okay?” He asked, immediately wrapping his long arms around the younger’s shoulders, not asking any questions about why he’s crying or why his shirt is discarded on the ground.

Minghao nuzzled his face into Jun’s neck, because despite his cold demeanor, he’d always found the Alpha’s scent soothing. ‘Even now, I’m still greedy.’ 

Jun waited until Minghao’s breathing evened out before drawing back to look at the boy in the eyes. “Now, look at me. Are you okay?”

Minghao sniffed. “You should leave me.”

Jun looked at him in shock. “Give me one good reason why I should.”

“I’m not good enough for you. You’re such a good Alpha, and I can’t compare. I’m not good enough. I’ll never be good enough. I’m not a failure of an Omega.”

“Hold up. Who says what is or isn’t a good Omega? And who says I want you because you’re an Omega? Is this because of what I said about your weight?”

Minghao looked up and made eye contact. A grimace flashed across his face. 

“I’m too skinny. I’d never be able to have your children. I’m not loveable the way an Omega should be…”

“The only thing wrong here is whoever told you what an Omega should be. I liked you before I realized you were even an Omega, you know this right? I liked you after the first few meetings, when you were still too far for me to smell you. And you being an Omega didn’t change anything about how I felt then. I would like you regardless of your secondary. And I like you the way you are.”

Minghao felt his heartbeat slowing down. 

“I don’t think Omegas need to be a certain way. You can do and be and look like whatever you want. Being an Omega is only a part of who you are. If we want to have children later, and you can carry them, that’s cool. If we need to adopt or use a surrogate, also cool. And I only mentioned your weight because I know college can be a stressful time, and I haven’t known you for long. I don’t really know your eating habits yet. I had some food and body image problems my first year and if it’s the same for you, then I want to be here for you.”

“No, that’s not it. Believe me, I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but I really don’t have body issues. This is new though. I haven’t thought of my body as more than a tool before. But now… with you… I don’t know whether you like it.”

“Are you worried about my opinion on your body? Is it because we started having sex?”

Minghao had calmed down enough to breathe easily now, and he looks up into Jun’s eyes, feeling the trust pouring out of them. He trusted this man. He trusted him with more than he’d ever felt for anyone before. And it scared him. But it seemed like there was a chance to keep him if he just let him in. 

“Yeah, I’m afraid… that you’ll get sick of my body, and… you’ll leave me.”

“You know you mean more to me that just sex, right? I’m playing the long con here. I want us to be a real couple. I want to be your boyfriend. I want to be able to always show you that it doesn’t matter whether your body screams Omega or scream strong and toned dance god. I really like you. And your body is a part of that. So I love your body too.”

Minghao gulped and pulled back into for a tight hug. Somehow Jun had managed to cover all his sudden insecurities, and maybe, just maybe, Minghao felt himself falling a little more for the lanky, caring dork of an Alpha. Maybe he was the one that he really needed. 

“Now, how about we finish our lunch. And then I can show you exactly how much I love you.”

“You love me?” Minghao asked, arms still wrapped around Jun’s shoulders with Jun’s arms wrapped around his waist. 

“Of course. I know it’s pretty early. And we’re technically not dating yet. But if you’d do me the honor of becoming my boyfriend?” Jun said softer than he’d ever sounded before, grabbing Minghao’s shirt off the ground to put back over the Omega’s head. As soon as he got his arms and head through the holes in his T-shirt, he grabbed Jun’s face in both hands and kissed him. 

Jun was shocked for a moment before lightly placing his hand on either side of the other boy’s slim body. Minghao tilted his head to allow him to deepen the kiss, biting lightly on the Alpha’s upper lip before they both open their mouths to allow their tongues to meet in the middle. Instead of their usually battle for dominance, it’s gentle, a display of their trust. 

Jun pulled away first, breathing heavily. “Let’s finish up lunch, okay?”

And they did. Minghao allowed Jun to pull him into his lap on the couch and feed him bites of his salad. And afterwards, Jun kept his word and showed Minghao exactly how much he loved him. And if they both discovered their praise and body worship kinks, then so be it. 

[Back to the beach]

“Minghao? You good?”

Minghao snaps back to attention. “Sorry, just zoning out.”

“Pregnancy brain? I remember. It gets bad sometimes. But yeah, I think I’m ready to give him a chance. You said to have an open heart. And I think you’re right.”

“Is that so? I’m glad I could finally be helpful to you in return for all you’ve done for me.”

“Aww Hao, you know I never mind lending an ear.”

They reach their beach umbrella and see all the boys are close to finishing their food. Jun sees Minghao approaching and while his face betrays his displeasure that his husband was carrying water bottles, he obediently pulls out a Tupperware containing his favorite salad. One of the only foods Jun can make by himself. 

The two Omegas sit down in their chairs to eat, while Seungcheol is already jumping back into his feet. 

“Who’s ready for some volleyball?” He asks, seeing the beach volleyball court is vacant now. 

Mingyu, Wonwoo, and Chan stand, ready to go, despite just having finished their food. Seungkwan looks like he wants to join, but he hesitates. 

“Seungkwan, want to play?”

“I really like volleyball, but I don’t know how to play. I’m not the best at sports.” He looks down where he plays with the edge of his towel. 

“No problem, bro,” Wonwoo says, “Dad sucks too. He just likes it. And it’s more fun that way, anyway.”

Seungcheol looks defeated already, and the others laugh. But he just waves over more of the boys to make the teams more even as he runs towards the court. 

 

~~~

[a few hours later]

The sun is hanging low over the horizon, a pink aura emanating from it. The volleyball match had turned into several, switching teams and trying to figure it out from Seungkwan’s extensive knowledge from watching his favorite teams playing each week. 

Now all the boys are sitting around a small campfire, roasting marshmallows and making s’mores. Most of them have sweatshirts on and are scooting closer to other near them for more warmth. The adults are sitting behind them in a small arc, Minghao sitting in Jun’s lap and bundled up in sweats, a sweatshirt, and a scarf, despite it not being that cold tonight. Joshua is laughing with the two Chinese men, while Jeonghan and Seungcheol just link pinkies while sipping on their drinks. 

“Hansollie, why do you just stick it in the fire like that?” Seungkwan whines from where he is besides him with his free arm wrapped around the blonde’s shoulders. 

“What’s wrong with it?” Hansol asks, clueless as his marshmallow is caught aflame. 

“It’ll burn.”

“That’s the point.”

Seungkwan sighs dramatically while the twins look at each other and stick their marshmallows straight into the fire, always in sync. Chan sticks his four marshmallows he stuck together into the fire, creating a makeshift marshmallow torch. Soonyoung is busy focusing on perfectly roasting his before making a snore and handing it to Jihoon who is sitting a few feet away from him. Wonwoo isn’t roasting a marshmallow but looks content just watching all the chaos. 

“Here, try it,” Hansol tried to hand the now burnt s’more to the boy resting his chin on his shoulder. 

Seungkwan takes a small bite and pouts. “Okay maybe it’s good.” He mumbles while chewing his food. 

Hansol grins, showing all his teeth before proceeding to burn another marshmallow for his own snore this time. 

 

~~~

They’re packing up to leave when Hansol pokes Seungkwan’s cheek. “Wanna have a sleepover?”

“What? Tonight?”

“Yeah, why not. I’m pretty sure that my Jihoon hyung is going to have a sleepover with Soonyoung hyung, so I think we should too. Come on, it’ll be fun. I haven’t had a friend as good as you before, so I haven’t had a sleepover before.”

“In that case, I would love to be your first sleepover, my dearest dongsaeng.”

“Yah, I’m just a month younger than you, I’m not calling you hyung.”

Meanwhile, Wonwoo is gathering up the trash and notices that while most of the boys finished several s’mores, it looks like Seungkwan didn’t finish the one Hansol made him. He’s about to call if Seungkwan wanted to finish it when Mingyu comes to help him pick up the s’mores debris. Wonwoo blushes from their hands brushing and forgets what he was doing as he drops all the dirty paper plates. 

“Oh, sorry.” Mingyu picks up the trash and throws them away quickly and returns to Wonwoo’s side. Wonwoo is wearing just a light sweater and is shivering slightly when Mingyu offers him his sweatshirt. He tries to deny the offer, but Mingyu won’t accept it when he sees Wonwoo continue to shiver. 

Wonwoo ends up wearing the oversized sweatshirt, already warm from its previous user and smelling strongly of the Alpha. He blushes as he smells the warm musky scent, not sure whether it came from the fire or Mingyu. 

He gets into the car with his dad, Hansol, and Seungkwan instead of Jihoon who is sleeping over at the Yoons’ house tonight. 

He breathes in deeply, feeling a warm sensation in the pit of his stomach, and for the first time, the scent of an Alpha didn’t make his stomach roll. 

‘Is this what Jihoon means by comforting Alpha scent?’ Wonwoo wonders, ‘because if so, I could get used to this.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONUS
> 
> Jihoon knows what he’s doing when he asked Soonyoung if he wanted to sleepover at his place tonight. He knows that Soonyoung recognizes it too if the gleam in his eyes means anything. 
> 
> Jihoon has to admit that Soonyoung so often managed to push his buttons, so it was nice to be the one getting Soonyoung bothered instead. He almost feels that he should be worried about how worried he felt when he asked. The few moments it took for Soonyoung to respond almost made his heart stop. That didn’t usually happen. ‘I don’t feel things like this for people. I thought I was aro. Could I not be? Maybe it’s just for Soonyoung? Maybe I should talk to Uncle Joshu-’
> 
> Jihoon’s train of thought is derailed when he glances over at the Alpha who is currently playing volleyball with his dad and a bunch of the boys. And of course, his dad is wearing those ugly beach water shoes. But that’s not what catches his eye. 
> 
> It’s the socks. That Soonyoung. Is wearing. In the sand. 
> 
> Jihoon puts his head in his hands, and wonders, ‘Am I actually falling for this? A loud idiot who wears socks on the beach? You can’t trust a man who wears socks on the beach.’ 
> 
> He looks up to see Soonyoung laughing so hard that he falls over when Wonwoo bumps into him. ‘Dear lord, could I be getting used to this?’
> 
> ~~~
> 
> If there are typos, forgive me, I wrote this really quickly because I was excited about this chapter. Please just leave me a comment if there's an issue somewhere. THANK YOU!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and please leave a kudos or comment if you think I should continue. I have a lot of plot points planned out but I don't want to write it all out if no one really finds it interesting. It will probably be a long one too, so be prepared.
> 
> I'm also still figuring out formatting so if there's anything you would recommend, let me know, too.
> 
> TW: panic attacks
> 
> There will be more graphic and possibly triggering material in upcoming chapters if I continue, but I will try to always note it in the A/N to give you a heads up. Please skip the A/N at first if you don't want the spoilers or need the trigger warnings.


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